Clearing The Crease Podcast
Hockey’s best podcast featuring Mike Commodore Andrew Raycroft and hosted by James Cybulski.
Clearing The Crease Podcast
Todd Bertuzzi on how the media HATES him no matter what, and coaching... CTC 80
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Todd Bertuzzi joins the boys to talk his time coaching Junior hockey and more, while James Cybulski, Andrew Raycroft and Mike Commodore talk the NHL!
Always had this saying, and it was it was a saying that I stuck with the whole year. I I I was here to make kids great again. There we go. And I wanted to love it. I wanted them to have the opportunity to be men. Yes. To be able to leave the house and not come back to the lights are on, to suck from the garden hose. I wanted to be responsible.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to the Clear and the Crease podcast powered by Ozun. Well played. He is the Call of the Trophy winner, Andrew Raycroft, the Razor, alongside Stanley Cup winner, Kami Mike Commodore. I'm James Tabalski. Yeah, there's nothing fun about me unlike these two rock stars. How we do? We got a fun one. We got a special guest coming up in just a matter of moments. But just a quick reminder: if you're enjoying the show, all the content we bring you between the podcasts, the add-ons on social, be sure to like and subscribe. Mash that like and subscribe button. Leave us a five-star review on Apple or Spotify, or make sure you're following along, whether you're subscribed on YouTube, following along on Instagram, X, TikTok, or wherever else you are tuning in from. Commie, how goes the grind these days? You living the dream still?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, yeah. Everything's been good. I had a little event last. I just got back. Uh I kind of missed some most of the games last night, but I was listening to them on the radio. I was up in Calgary for uh five, six days. I had an event with Chris Pronger on uh Thursday night that went well. It was basically up on stage BSing a little bit and uh having a few beers, and then I hung out with my father for uh I don't get up there much anymore. Mom's overseas with her friends on some girls' trip, whatever kind of girls' trip you go on when you're seven turning 79. So she's over there, and my old man's by himself, and uh so I hung out with him for a few days. It's amazing, you know, when I I guess I never really thought about it. My parents have been together for I mean, they're they're they're turning my mom's turning 79, my dad's turning the 1947 birthdays. My dad has been cooked for for 55 years, he told me. So usually when I go home, there's all kinds of food in the fridge and like all homemade, you know what I mean? Like home cooked meals. That fridge was bare. And then on my way out, it was kind of funny. Like I threw my, you know, my sheets and stuff from my bed in the washer, and they were still I had to go to the airport. I'm like, hey, dad, you know, when you're done uh when the washer's done, just throw the sheets in the dryer. And he looked at me like I had 100%. I'm like, do you know how to do that? He's like, uh, I'm like, get in here. I'm like, I got it all set up, Daddy. All you gotta do is hit this power button and then hit the play button, and you're good to go. He's like, Oh, okay, I could do that. I'm like, I'll see you next week. So that was my uh last few days.
SPEAKER_01That's great.
SPEAKER_00There's so much, there's so much there between you still doing laundry at your parents' house as a middle-aged man, dad not knowing how to work the dryer or the kitchen for that matter. Nope. Everything is happening. Razor, how about you? What's going on in Boston?
SPEAKER_01Uh, what do we got? Well, we got back from from the smoke last weekend, and it's been uh it's been quiet. We got like just stuff, regular stuff on the weekends with the kids and a little golf. Uh, the weather hasn't been great, but I did get out and play some a little bit. So this is like the quietest. The three weeks in May are quiet, nothing for me. So it's this is the best time of year. Cut the grass, hang out. That's it.
SPEAKER_00Again, as I've said, a two-round run in the playoffs. That's the best one. Just enough. Just enough. Okay, there's a lot to get to, some big leafs news happening. Uh, as the Oilers turn, that's going down as well. But let's bring in our special guest because he has been going viral, not just because he's a champion, but because of his beard when he's all clean shaven now. My God. Friend of the show, Todd Bertuzzi joins us, a champion from the Cambridge Redhawks. How about this? A champion, Bert. How are you, man?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I'm doing awesome. Thanks. I appreciate you guys having me on Razor Commie and you too, C Ball. Yeah, it's been a heck of uh uh a week around here. I've had to do a lot of babysitting, but uh I'll tell you right now, it's been all worth it. It was uh a heck of a fun season for sure.
SPEAKER_02Bert, let me I I just want to bring it back to the beginning of the season because it kind of caught me not off guard. It was not off guard, but you know, I I didn't know what your plans were. How did you originally get into this the head coaching gig? How did that come about? Like what interested you about it, like from right from the get-go, and then we'll get into your season, which was unreal.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you're well familiar about bouncing around about me, about saving the city. I get it, make it comfortable, gonna check this place up, this place out. I uh bought a sprinter, I traveled around North America, I went skiing and all this, and uh, I got a call one day on one of my 24-hour drives uh from one of my buddies, uh Fitzy Boy, Mike George, uh, about an opportunity of maybe coming in and uh maybe stopping the bus a little bit and maybe parking myself for a year. And it was a coaching job with the Cambridge Redhawks. Uh, they were a newer team in the area. They used to be in golf. And uh one thing led to another, led to five, six beers, two bottles of wine, and I decided to say, yeah, sure.
SPEAKER_00True, Sarah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, come in. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So no, I'm glad I did it. It was uh, you know what, it was fun going back and and refreshing the brain and getting it moving, getting it active, and being in uh a little bit more of a routine. So it was uh it was quite the winner.
SPEAKER_01How great was the season? How great were the kids, and then how good at uh you talked about babysitting the last week, Bert. What what what what do the kids do nowadays when they win championships? What does that look like?
SPEAKER_03Razor, you know what? Um I I was fortunate. Uh my age group's 16 to 20. Uh, this is a different generation. It took it took hours and hours and hours of trying to figure out what kind of coach I'm gonna have to be uh with this group. And I honestly went back on on my past and grabbed every single coach I've ever had from junior to the NHL, and I tried to mash in one coach that I thought would be perfect fit for this age group. And to be honest with you, it it was coming in and setting a culture and uh setting the tone on how things are gonna have to be handled. And I always had this saying, and it was it was a saying that I stuck with the whole year. I I I was here to make kids great again. There we go. And I wanted I wanted them to have the opportunity to be men. Yes, to be able to leave the house and not come back till the lights are on, to suck from the garden hose. I wanted to be responsible. I wanted to be responsible for their actions. I wanted them to come into my office and figure out why they're not playing or what's going on in their game. And we just struck such a great relationship, myself and and the boys, and then one thing led to another, and we got off to an unbelievable start. And as it was going on, I knew we had something brewing, and then uh unfortunately we had to make a couple trades because it was very hard when we had to make a couple trades because I got close to a couple of the kids, but we needed to get a little bit bigger, so it was just moves like that that ended up putting us in a situation to end up being uh uh champions in the end. But it was it was it was a heck of a lot of fun. I had a very good staff in uh Mike Rusk, Nick Spalling, and uh Jeff Butt and Rob. And uh it just it just kept on going. I I I just the amount of belief that they end up having in themselves and how much work they actually put in. I think they put in more work than some junior aid teams did, and I think that's why we were successful.
SPEAKER_00So tell me this for a guy who was who is often credited with the phrase, it is what it is, what's that like trying to tell a kid that they've been traded or they've been cut?
SPEAKER_03Well, I'll be honest, especially at a young age too, right? Yeah, well, it was emotional for me. I had to bring in the GM and everyone to do it. I couldn't I couldn't muster up the the uh that part in order to do that to kids.
SPEAKER_00Wait, wait, wait, you're talking about toughening kids up, and then here you are going, uh no, the hard stuff I'm deferring to somebody else here.
SPEAKER_03Well, telling a kid that he's been trading from a powerhouse team to a to an average team is not fun to do. Yeah, he puts so much into it for three months, and you build relationships with these kids, and and and even healthy scratching kids. Like it took a lot of learning for me to get through the season because I didn't like healthy scratching kids. I've been in the situation. My son's been in it, and and I know what the feeling's like, and and I hate that I had to do that, but they're the ones who signed up to play big boy hockey, so I had to make some big boy moves. And uh it was it was tough at the start, but I sure got hard pretty quick.
SPEAKER_02Big Bert, 61 and six was your overall record. That's correct, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, what yeah, six sixty-one and six, and uh honestly the refs screwed us on a couple, but you know what, I'll let it go now. Six losses, six losses officiating. What yeah, you know what it was? It was uh it wasn't hard to motivate these kids, man. It was uh this group was special. And uh the only thing I had to do was come up with different phrases and different stories throughout my career that I've been in or I failed at. And uh it was just a fun, motivating season. And uh to watch these kids excel and and to do something, accomplish something that no one thought they were gonna do was was a pretty cool feeling.
SPEAKER_01What now? How do you how do you follow up 61 and six?
SPEAKER_03Uh I'm looking for 50 and oh to start, and I think uh I like to run the playoffs again. I got my whole team coming back. We lose uh we lose our captain, our assistant captain Owen Yeager and um Kyler Morgan. And then we basically have our whole team coming back, and then we've already in the mix of stalking the cupboard right now with a couple big studs right now, locking them in. And uh, we're gonna run this back and see if we can do it again.
SPEAKER_02What when you lost some guys, Big Bird, like uh I'm assuming some are to age and like our did some of the kids maybe move on to the OHL or something like that?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we got two kids that aged out. Uh the two older guys that are our overagers. We we actually call me we had I think it was the third youngest team in the league. We had 17, we had 17 rookies. Oh wow. That's why I'm getting I'm getting everyone back. But we're gonna lose Alex Forrest to the Kitchener Rangers. Shout out to the Rangers, they're heading to the Moral Cup out in beautiful Kelowna. Right. And I think together, I think they got a solid chance at uh competing and uh winning there. And then uh we got uh Parker Smith heading back home to my hometown, Sudbury, and play with the Sudbury Wolves. And then uh we'll wait and see what happens with the OHL draft and uh what kids aren't gonna are quite ready to make it as we're affiliated with the OHL. And uh we'll see what 16-year-old kids we end up getting to fill in uh the rest of the spots.
SPEAKER_02Big bird last one, hold on, go ahead, Tommy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, even just uh we talked uh once on the phone there last week after I just wanted to congratulate you and and looking at you now and listening to you talk kind of in person if you want to call this in person. You're obviously very passionate about this. Uh you're into it. Like, do you have uh uh like what's your plan moving forward? I know you're coming back next year, but like do you have any idea where you'd like to take this? Do you see coaching as like you know, moving on up the ladder? Is that something maybe, or maybe you don't know yet?
SPEAKER_03Uh you know what? I I'm not sure I know yet. I know I'm already prepping for this year, and the amount of work that goes into getting the season ready and the length of the season and how much stuff you have to deal with and all that kind of stuff. It was uh it was long, but man, I I actually had a lot of fun. The reward was was watching these kids' faces succeed, and I absolutely love it, and it drove me every day to figure out solutions, how to solve problems, and uh yeah, it's probably something that I can see myself if it's the right spot in the right place, maybe trying to move up to the OHL or or we'll see whatever comes my way. But uh, I'm gonna focus on this year. I promise the kids I come back and and try to redo this. So I'm a man of my word to them. And then uh hopefully we uh we do the same thing and we could talk about maybe me moving on to the ranks uh following year.
SPEAKER_02I'm thinking Cambridge one more year, and then let's get you coaching the Leafs.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, let's put that away, Chuck straight to the top. Actually, you know what? The only thing good there is I can handle the media anywhere I go anyway.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god.
SPEAKER_03Would you ever no one's had to take more no one no one's had to take more shrapnel than me?
SPEAKER_00So okay, all all this talk aside, all this talk aside about winning a championship and turning you know, hardening kids and toughening them up and all of it. But tell me this the beard. I'm seeing stuff that popped up on social media, Todd Vertuzzi, unrecognizable. Dude, you were training for a mall set. It's like did you use this beard? Like, and you took it off. Like, what's uh how long did it take to grow that monster?
SPEAKER_03Buddy, it's amazing. At 51, I still get click dates for doing nothing. Nothing. I'm either so loved or so hated that whatever I do, someone's popping off on me for whatever I do. So that's why I actually don't give a shit anymore. I'll say what I want, I'll do what I want. And uh, you know what? The beard did come off. It was uh if I was if I was staying in Kitchener for a full season in the winter in Ontario, I was gonna put the beard on for sure to keep warm.
SPEAKER_00Grizzly Adams has got nothing on you, my friend.
SPEAKER_03No, well, it did take a life of its own, but uh no, it was it was fun.
SPEAKER_00The boys loved it. Yeah, it was glorious to see that. I mean, especially commie and I were talking about this a few weeks ago because you know, obviously, having not seen you for a bit, and then all of a sudden you see this thing pop up, and it's like, hey, commie, we were both like, holy crap, did you see it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, big Bert looks great. He's scaring those kids in the game.
SPEAKER_00Like 2004 command there. Uh oh, on steroids.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that that was that was great. That was uh that was a lot of fun, especially seeing some of our kids' patchy ass beards. Oh, I bet they don't throw beards like they used to. At 14 Aaron, a full beard.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, you look at every picture from the 70s and the 80s, and like every teenager has like a giant beard at different times. Uh, congratulations, man. This is awesome. Uh, nice to be able to do this, and we I think uh all of us I think are really happy for you, and uh definitely you deserve it. So excited to see what happens when you're running back next year.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I appreciate you having I actually watch here you guys often. You guys entertain me, you guys are in the know of what's going on and all that. Very educational. People haven't missed out on TV and all that. You entertain, you guys do a heck of a job. So thank you. Keep on doing it. Appreciate you having me on. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Big Bart. Thank you. Thank God for commie.
SPEAKER_00You know what that is? That is an ozun.
SPEAKER_02Well played, yeah, well played season right there. Yes, there he is.
SPEAKER_0061 and the six. He is a two and six. 61 and six. Going to the pink pony clock now. Oh, yeah. I'm on my way. Enjoy yourself. You learned it. John Bertuzzi joining us here on the Clearing the Crease podcast.
unknownGo.
SPEAKER_00Well, I guess uh we might as well just keep the show going on. Go. Yeah, just rolling into it. So we'll figure it out. We'll do it live. Here we go. Uh and just a reminder, everybody, the Clearing the Crease podcast, powered by Ozun.net. The road to the Stanley Cup is open. The clearest road to winning big is to play on Ozun.net. Ozun has you covered for all props, game lines, futures from now until the Stanley Cup final and beyond. So make your power play. Score big with Ozun. Well played. Okay, let's dive in as we record this. Uh, this coming down literally moments is before we hit the record button, but uh it's official in Toronto. I I don't think anybody was really surprised about this, but nevertheless, it is uh it is still a huge talking point. Craig Barube out in Toronto with the Maple Leafs uh razor. Let's let's defer to a guy who wore the blue and white. Um, we had a lot of conversations with former players about what was happening with the organization in recent weeks. Uh I this isn't a surprise, but how do we feel about this one?
SPEAKER_01No, not a surprise. Uh needed it felt like it needed to be done, especially when you bring in Matt and Cheka, and you've got this whole new thing and and you've you've got to uh cater, it feels like, to some of these players, the the the big boys on on the Toronto Maple Leafs. And the way the last couple of years went with Baruby, you just it's clean sweep time there. Have to clean sweep it. No surprise. Um the question is, is it Austin Matthews' uncle or is it his dad who is the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, I got well to touch on that, I gotta be honest. I mean, I'm not surprised. I don't think Craig Baruby's gonna have a hard time getting another job if he wants it. Um, you know, I I mean I think a little mark against him maybe, but at the end of the day, it seemed like a bit of a bit of a mess. I am a little concerned though, because you know, the Leafs just did this GM thing and brought in an unwanted GM. Now they got rid of their coach or unhirable. I mean, are they gonna be going looking for an unhirable coach? Which leads me back to when we were talking of the Illuminati Babs. I mean, he they can't bring him back, can they? I mean, I'm a little bit nervous right now. I'm a little bit nervous.
SPEAKER_01So they're still paying them, aren't they? They just put them back on, like they just plug them back in. They don't even have to do the direct deposit anymore.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, just sign them to a new extension. But um, yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm with you guys. It's it's maybe if you're gonna clean house, I guess you might as well clean house. But like everything else that the Leafs do, I'm very interested, more so this year than than others, just because of the Pelly and now the Cheka and how that went. I mean, who is who is coming in? But like you said, maybe it's gonna be one of Austin Matthews' relatives. That would make sense.
SPEAKER_01No, it it's a great that's a good point. Who wants this job?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, right.
SPEAKER_01Like you go back through, like Craig Baruby was the most wanted coach in the history of the NHL out of St. Louis, coming to Toronto, and now he's got the like it is just a small little mark. Because I don't think when people go to Toronto, it actually ends up mattering. Because everyone knows this is what ends up happening when you go there. It's just it's really incredible. It is, and and you know, again, we talked to a bunch of Leafs guys the last few weeks, and uh it it really is amazing how it continues to happen. When you go to Toronto, you end up going out like this, inevitably, no matter who you are, even Craig Barubi, and now he's got a lot of people. Look at the list raiser to that point, like unbelievable. Uh everybody, and then go through the players then it's the same thing. And um I I'm I'm fascinated who comes in here because this is this might not be as wanted or coveted, they're not even that good right now. Like, who wants this job and who are they gonna get um interesting? And now the other thing too is this opens up Craig Baruby's gotta be wanted by teams and and maybe teams that have coaches right now think that Baruby's an upgrade. How does that play out?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so that's segues. Go ahead, Z Ball.
SPEAKER_00No, I was just I was just gonna say to to and commie, but you can piggyback off this, but does this not just speak to just how devastating and you know, I think of that scene from Indiana Jones Temple of Temple of Doom, where the the the villain pulls out the heart of that one person. And I just think that loss to the Panthers last year in the playoffs, like just what that did, not just for the players. But what it did for the entire organization, like this team just never recovered. Obviously, losing Mitch Marner had a huge impact, taking a player like that, a 100-point player out of the lineup. But just the tailspin that this organization has gone into where you you had a coach who clearly I think there was a point watching his body language at some point last season, there was almost like, I've like, I've lost this group. And it's not necessarily a reflection of his coaching, it's just those those players were completely shell-shocked and still never over that playoff devastation from last year. That's what it seemed like. That's what it seems like how this all played out, Connie.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you know, I I don't think you're wrong. And uh you know what it it actually kind of reminds me a little bit of now, obviously it's a different level, but what Big Bird just talked about. And he went in there and his biggest thing was building culture. But like in you, you know, Big Bird has it has his way of going about it and make guys accountable and stuff like that. And and that was his, you know, he now he's doing that with kids, which I is I'm you know, everybody says that well, you need a good culture, but actually building it and doing it, I think is is uh a very hard thing to do.
SPEAKER_00And when you Tommy, what is culture for both you guys? What is cult? What I mean what is that?
SPEAKER_02I think it's just an accountability. Uh if I'm gonna like make it like simple, it's just like, hey, like there's a certain expectation you need to, whether it's on the ice or off the ice, where you know, this expectation needs to be met, or you're out of here, or you're in shit, or or whatever. And I think that's something you know, and what pops in my mind, and it's and I know it's just a little thing, and it had nothing really to do with the game, but this guy's one of the, you know, supposed to be one of the leaders, signed up long term for big cash in Toronto, and it's just a simple little thing. It doesn't seem like a whole lot, but you remember when Kneelander was giving the finger to the camera? Like just like that's like uh that's culture. That's that's culture. That's like oh, I'm sitting here watching the game and I, you know, I'm giving the finger to the camera. Like, I don't really care, is what that kind of shows me. And I'm just gonna do whatever I want. And is what that kind of, you know, I I'm not I'm not yet like I'm hurt, I'm not playing this guy. I should be invested in this game, paying attention, not worried about the camera, and giving the camera the finger. That's just now, and I understand that's just a little thing, but I feel like if it's happening up there in the press box on a when it's you know, he should this shouldn't even it's it's gotta be something's gotta be going on in the room. So uh maybe that, you know, I I would guess that's probably where Todd Bertuzzi failed. Is he couldn't get these guys moving in the right direction, the same direction. And I I guess for Craig Berube. Or sorry, what did I I said? Did I say Bertuzzi? Burt. Sorry, sorry, no, Burt did not fail. That's five years from now. Sorry, sorry.
SPEAKER_00Burt will be fired in five years from now.
SPEAKER_02Not not Burt. I got him mixed up there, but Craig Berube in Toronto. So yeah, yeah, it's it's it's yeah.
SPEAKER_01Can't wait to see. It's gonna be another story. Well, whoever they hire is a is a massive three-week story. It's it's never gift that never gets.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so to the segue, commie, I think you were expecting this, but do the oilers now. That's what it's been look at Barube because like the talk right now, what a terrible look for the Oilers. As they have been blocked, uh according to reports, they've been denied permission to talk to Bruce Cassidy from Vegas, who they let go of. And you've got Knobloch still employed, twisting in the wind. And so, is that a pivot? What do you like? Where do you go with this one? What a terrible look, Tommy. You just spent some time in Alberta while things are still fresh. Yeah. Like, imagine this.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean, the Oilers are you have Knobloch, which is one of McDavid's boys, and yeah, you take him to the finals twice in a row, and and this I think it's a little bit uh I mean, Razor obviously was all over the Oilers all year. I thought it was a lot to ask to have the Oilers make another run out at it after just going to the finals twice. That's a lot of hockey. I mean, when you look at the Oilers, I don't think I haven't heard much, you know. I'm up in Alberta now, I'm in Calgary, but still there's Oilers fans there and they talk about the Oilers. I don't think really Knoblock's name has come up as like ever being uh like it's always the D-man and the goaltending. So it's like I don't know if that's really I mean, well, at the end of the day, you know, sports isn't about being about fair, but I don't know if him being, you know, maybe getting gassed out of there and bringing in Cassidy. I mean, I don't I don't know what that changes really, other than a maybe a new coach bump. But it's like, look, if you're if you're gonna have these goalies in this decor, I'm not sure what else you'd do. So um, yeah, like I said, that kind of caught me off guard, right? Because this that just happened right before we came on air here uh this morning. So I don't know if that's a great move. Um, but I guess we'll see how it pans out.
SPEAKER_01It there was there was you know, like even McDavid and and Dry Sidal at different times of the year talked about their system. They talked about they got smoked by Tampa that and they're like, Well, Tampa's coat, you know, like