Flames take chance on Bertuzzi

You knew someone was going to take a chance that Todd Bertuzzi had something left in the tank. It should be no surprise that Mike Keenan would be the one to bite.

The Calgary Flames on Monday signed Bertuzzi to a one-year deal worth $1.95 million. That came on the same day they lost Owen Nolan, who signed for two years and $5.5 million with the Minnesota Wild.

"Todd is a proven scorer with the ability to play both wings," Flames GM Darryl Sutter said in a statement. "He expressed to us that he wanted to play in Canada and that desire along with signing him to a one year deal was important to our philosophy.

"He wanted to play on a good team and it fit our money. Additionally, our captain, Jarome Iginla, was a strong supporter of Todd and wanted him on our team."

Bertuzzi signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Anaheim Ducks on July 2, 2007, despite being limited to 15 games with the Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers the previous season.

He missed 14 games early in the season due to a concussion, but didn't miss any more time after that, and finished with 14 goals and 26 assists in 68 games. The Ducks bought out Bertuzzi on June 28, making him an unrestricted free agent.

For comparison, Nolan played 77 games with the Flames last season, and put up 16 goals and 16 assists.

Bertuzzi had his best season in 2002-03 he tallied 46 goals, 51 assists and was named a first-team All-Star. In March 2004, he was suspended for the final 13 regular-season games and the playoffs for deliberately injuring and ending the career of Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche.

The ban extended through the 2004-05 lockout, and prevented Bertuzzi from playing in Europe.

Moore suffered a broken neck among other injuries, and has never played again.