Tyler Bertuzzi Is Going To Be A Major Problem For The Panthers To Handle
Tyler Bertuzzi got a chance to play in his first Stanley Cup Playoff game last night with the Boston Bruins after spending the first 5.5 seasons of his career wasting away in Detroit. Bertuzzi tallied two assists on the night on both the first and last goals of the game. But most folks in Boston seemed to have fallen in love with Tyler Bertuzzi for the clip above when he snatched Nick Cousins' stick out of his hands on the way to the bench in the 3rd period. In other words, Bruins fans love Tyler Bertuzzi because he is a criminal.
According to Massachusetts state law, "Larceny of property with a value that exceeds $250 or larceny of a firearm is a felony in Massachusetts. It is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Larceny of items with a value less than $250 is a misdemeanor and punishable by up to 1 year in jail."
So stealing something with a value that exceeds $250 is considered a felony in Massachusetts, huh? Let's do a little research here, shall we. It appears the stick of choice that Nick Cousins uses is a Bauer Nexus Sync.
If we take a look over at the Pure Hockey website, the retail price on this stick is $339.99.
So did we witness some greasy gamesmanship in the playoffs, or did we witness a felony? Because it's starting to look to me like Tyler Bertuzzi could be facing 5-years in the clink.
This is the playoffs. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to win. The Panthers are already down 1-0 in the series. They only have 3 more guaranteed games left on their season. You need to do whatever is necessary to keep your season alive. If that means you have to press some charges, then you sure as shit better press those charges. Tyler Bertuzzi has already proven to be a massive problem for this Florida Panthers team. Here is the perfect opportunity to neutralize that problem and send him to jail for 5 years. He might be a free agent this summer, but the only team locking him up to a long-term deal is the Massachusetts judicial system.
The only area where this case isn't completely open-and-shut is the fact that Bertuzzi apparently wasn't able to break Cousins' stick, and it was ultimately returned to him by the ref. But that's where the Panthers just need to find themselves a good lawyer. If they can either prove that 1) the stick was damaged beyond repair or 2) the intent to destroy the stolen property was there, then I think they can win this thing in a court of law. It's the Stanley Cup Playoffs, baby. Can't hold anything back now. How bad do you want the Cup?