Bertuzzi Reinstated

Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks has been reinstated and Gary Bettman once again proves how much of a bonehead he really is:

``I anticipate that there will be those who will say that Mr. Bertuzzi's 17-month suspension is inadequate,'' Bettman said in a statement. ``I disagree.''

Bertuzzi should have been banned from the NHL, if not every other hockey league in the world, and thrown in jail. If you and I had done the same heinous act as Bertuzzi we'd be getting three square meals a day and an hour of exercise out in the yard.

So why isn't he?

Terry Frei points out the real lesson here and it is hopefully one that is learned and enforced in the "new" NHL:

So the issue becomes: Will the NHL learn anything from this? The most underplayed aspect in all of this was the league fining the Canucks, serving notice that it is the organization's -- from the GM on down -- responsibility to head off this kind of stupidity. You don't encourage it with either implied support or overt directives. If you do, you'll pay.

We shall see.