C'mon, Don't Blame The Bruins For Bertuzzi's Exit
A cap-strapped team that needed July 1 answers is not to blame, even as the B's watched Tyler Bertuzzi sign a one-year deal with Toronto
Inevitably some members of the Boston Bruins fan base were going to be royally pissed off with the way this summer has gone for their favorite hockey team.
The reality is that the bill is currently past due for last season’s deep, Stanley Cup-caliber group that broke regular season records before ultimately falling woefully short in the playoffs. That’s where the bitterness and the hollow feelings come in for Don Sweeney, Cam Neely and the rest of the Boston Bruins brain trust because they’re paying a premium, full price for winning a Cup while finishing nowhere close to actually winning it.
But fans typically don’t want to hear about reality this time of year when money is being ladled out from NHL teams like a game of NHL Monopoly.
That’s perhaps why fans are reacting badly to Tyler Bertuzzi signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon. And predictably, Maple Leafs fans are going nuts while still rooting for a team that isn’t doing enough to improve their defense and goaltending situation.
They want to blame Sweeney for botching the negotiations or scream at the heavens that the B’s should have signed one player in Bertuzzi rather than fill out their roster with Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrick Brown and Morgan Geekie for the same price tag.
But honestly the only one to blame here is Bertuzzi and his agent, who completely misread the market for the 28-year-old winger.