BHN Puck Links: Todd Bertuzzi Apologizes for Being a ‘Douche’

You don’t hear wholehearted apologies from NHL players to the media all that often, so let’s savor this one. Clearly Todd Bertuzzi has done plenty of soul-searching over the years after his sucker punch of Colorado’s Steve Moore left the Avs skater with a career-ending broken neck, and Bertuzzi was viewed as the villain of that incident in the aftermath.

But Todd Bertuzzi, who apologized candidly in an interview with SportsNet 650 for being a “douche”, also sounds like he wasn’t exactly a bed of roses to deal with from a media perspective either with the reporters that dealt with him on a daily basis in Vancouver. Now he’s regretful and sorry after plenty of time reflecting on the way he acted as an NHL player with maturity and life experience guiding his viewpoint.

With Bertuzzi coming full circle as a human being as the lead link, here’s what happening around the rest of the hockey world:

*Crazy to think this week is the 25^th anniversary of one of the worst moments in college hockey history when Travis Roy suffered a spinal injury in his very first shift at Boston University. What he’s done with his life since then, though, is one of the best stories in college hockey history.

*There are a lot of hockey books coming out this month. One I haven’t heard a ton about, but I really want to read, is Willie O’Ree’s memoir about his life as a trailblazer in the NHL. His story of breaking hockey’s color barrier is as relevant now as it’s ever been.

*Speaking of hockey books, FOH (Friend of Haggs) Adrian Dater gives us a sneak peek at Colorado Hockey Now to one of his chapters from an upcoming book when Patrick Roy destroyed the office of coach Bob Hartley. Love a good, nutty Patrick Roy story.

*It looks like the 7 NHL teams that didn’t qualify for the bubble playoffs are going to be getting to work at training camp a few weeks sooner than everybody else. Seems fair to me.

*FOH (Friend of Haggs) Pierre McGuire talks about what kind of role Jumbo Joe Thornton might play with the Maple Leafs.

*While PK Subban is very clearly on the downside of his NHL career, that dude is very clearly living his best life as his vacation pics with Lindsey Vonn illustrate for everyone.

*For something completely different: Happy Birthday to one of my favorite NBA players of all time and my go-to guy in NBA Jams, the late, great Drazen Petrovic. Man was he fun to watch.