The Free Press’s Helene St. James wraps something of a bow on the Tyler Bertuzzi situation by offering some quotes from his friend and teammate, Dylan Larkin, as well as Bertuzzi’s coach:
“It’s his choice,” captain and close friend Dylan Larkin said. “Tyler has looked into it, weighed all of his options. It was his choice not to get it. Tyler’s very popular in our room, he’s a very big part of our locker room. We’re going to miss him on the ice, we’re going to miss him in the locker room when he’s not able to play, but he has our support, I guess you could say. We are just going to miss him when he’s not there. We are going to have to find a way, you can’t think about it too much. You have to find ways to move on and be ready to play.”
Larkin said he and Bertuzzi talked about the situation over the summer. “He’s explained it to me. Tyler has thought a lot about it. I know that there’s a lot of support for him making his own decision, but there is also a part that everybody knows we are going to miss him when he can’t play.”
Bertuzzi is the team’s grittiest player and one of their most effective. He appeared in only nine games last season before being sidelined by a back injury, and recorded five goals and two assists. The first game he’ll miss because of border restrictions for unvaccinated people is Oct. 23 at Montreal, the Wings’ first road game of the season.
“Tyler is a player I love as a person, love as a player,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “I’m a big fan of Tyler. He’s a great teammate. The NHL allowed our players to make decisions on this, and that’s the decision Tyler made and we respect it. Obviously we’d love to have everybody vaccinated because then you don’t lose anybody, but I certainly respect the decision. How will I handle it? Other guys will get opportunity when he cannot play. There’s not a whole lot more to the story than that.”
Continued; in a game where blood and spit are shared between players, I’m sticking by my guns here in suggesting that Bertuzzi’s fear of the needle is simply a case of not doing his job as a teammate, and, as the coach says, other people will earn opportunities because of it.
I admire that he is standing up to something this is neither “safe or effective”. Check the CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reaction System website. Over 15,000 deaths and over 600,000 negative reactions. Isreal and Iceland have some of the highest vax rates in the world and also the most cases. Time to question the bs media narrative.
Sir, the vaccine is not a magic bullet, especially in homogeneous populations. I’m not a virologist or epidemiologist, but the vaccine is working pretty well.
In Canada, the unvaccinated are nearly all the new infections. Some deaths and sad stories about what they should have done.
To me it seems odd that the Non Vaxers with the infections, are under 19 yrs old. This 4th Wave is more dangerous than any of the previous ones.
Pfizer announced they will have a combined Flu/Covid Vaccine. I want to take both but not sure about a combo shot. (One for Leaf Fans Virus only would be good)
Are you OK with Drouin missing last year with anxiety?
Stop demonizing people who see the world differently.
Anxiety doesn’t breathe on you.
Touche George. Saw a sign on the back of a car yesterday reading, Who knew a pandemic could also be an IQ test.
To make this decision even more selfish, his fiance is expecting a baby. I will stick with my opinion tthat this is not a persons choice. Gambling on lives is far from a personal choice. I watched him on WDIV, he looked slow and blowing warm air into his hands (maybe interview as at a Rink)?
He selfish putting his future wife and baby at risk among others. He should sit out the year and let someone else take his spot.
The New baby should change his selfish attitude. At least 2 Asst Coaches have lost their jobs one not wanting to get the needle and one that has a medical condition that won’t allow a Covid Vaccination. And Bert remains putting, family, team mates, on and on at risk. Why are coaches treated different than players? Bettman needs to buy some bigger shoes, this is an NHL matter and nothing to do with their Union. Really a a problem that might grow. Bert can’t be the only player refusing the vaccination?