For as long as I’ve been a sentient being, the Canucks haven’t had a more singularly dominant player (in my estimation) than Todd Bertuzzi. His ability to take over a game physically is unlike anything I’ve seen since in a Canucks uniform.

While there’s been no shortage of physically apt players since his hay days in Vancouver, none have possessed the ability to bully their opponents to even half the extent Bertuzzi could. Physically imposing doesn’t do justice.

When speaking on what it means to be a power forward, the benchmark was set during Bertuzzi’s more productive campaigns as a Vancouver Canuck. And likely will be until Zack Kassian realizes his fullest potential for the foreseeable future. 

Bertuzzi could hit:

Bertuzzi could murder:

Bertuzzi could throw a punch:

Best of all, Bertuzzi could score goals… lots of goals:

Then Bertuzzi had to go and ruin a good thing. Oh, and a player’s career:

I don’t think that moment did Bertuzzi any favours either, though:

Acquired in a 1998 trade with the New York Islanders, Bertuzzi was brought along as a project with the hopes that he would live up to his immense talent and first-round pedigree. The requisite physical tools were always in place, but the lumbering winger struggled to put the pieces together and reach his fullest potential. In fact, it wasn’t until his third season with the Canucks that Bertuzzi gave any indication that he might live up to the type of player the Canucks had thought they’d acquired.

When everything finally came together for Bertuzzi, around the 1999-00 season. This more-or-less aligns perfectly when the West Coast Express era of Canucks hockey began – an era highlighted by the Canucks first line of Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison. Their skill sets matched either so perfectly. Naslund had the best wrist shot in the league, Morrison was an apt playmaker and Bertuzzi created the space to let them work their magic. 

At his absolute best, Bertuzzi could take over a game. In one instance, he took over an entire playoff series against the St. Louis Blues. It started with the above posted video of Bertuzzi destroying poor Barrett Jackman behind his own net. From that point forward, Bertuzzi became an immovable presence from the front of the Blues net. Bertuzzi’s menacing play sparked a 3-1 series comeback and advancement into the second round.

That represented the peak for Bertuzzi. Just a few short years later, he would find his nadir. Yes, I’m talking of course about the Steve Moore incident. That cut Bertuzzi’s season short, as he was dealt a massive suspension for sucker punching Steve Moore and ending his career. That marked the beginning of the end for Bertuzzi as a Canuck. His season that followed would be his last, as he was eventually dealt by Dave Nonis in the package that acquired Roberto Luongo.

One era ends, another begins.