In my "seriously" post yesterday, I channeled Keenan and wrote some fawning faux-comments about Todd Bertuzzi. It seems that I was a day too early because Keenan himself has revealed his embarrassing 240 pound blind-spot today:
Keenan has showed the utmost faith in Bertuzzi, using him nearly 20 minutes a night despite the diminishing returns on ice-time investment. The reasons, he says, are obvious.
"He's a preoccupation for both defenceman. They can't stop him. I watched (the TV feed) again this morning and the commentator said exactly that. When he comes out of the corner with that force, that drive . . . When you're as big as Todd is, can skate like he can, accelerate like he can, with those soft hands, and shoot the way he can, like I said he's a preoccupation.
"Nobody writes about that."
This from a man who berated Alex Tanguay into requesting a trade last season and immeately threw Huselius under the bus when his ES stats started to falter.
This level of confirmation bias in a fan is a little embarassing, but it's expected. But from a professional coach?
"You talk about (Bertuzzi's) plus-minus and the fact that he hadn't scored in this-many games.''An emphatic shake of the head. "Doesn't matter to me.''
Translation: No evidence to the contrary can convince me that Bertuzzi isn't that good of a hockey player anymore. Not 4 years of relatively ineffective play, not the fact that the Ducks bought him out this summer and not his floating and mind-numbingly bad decision making at ES this year.
Bertuzzi can do whatever he wants and Keenan is going to continue to play him 20 minutes a night, with good players and in key situations. I wonder if Bertuzzi finds Keenan's eyes lingering on him in the shower after games?
Sheezus, this is bordering on the absurd. I wonder what happens when the percentages swing back a little and Bert starts getting a few pluses here and there? Will he play 25 minutes a game? 30? Will Keenan strip the Captaincy from Jarome and confer it upon Sore Thumb?
One thing is clear - Keenan is going to pursue this Bert thing to the Nth degree, no matter the damage it does to the club.
Ridiculous.
