Posting a Red Wings-related rumor, reservations included
George James Malik
I don’t like to tread in rumors and uncomfirmed reports, but the bandwidth this one will take up merits a mention with a few reservations. This rumor doesn’t make sense given the Red Wings’ relative depth, cap space, or personnel needs, so I’d suggest that it’s highly unlikely at best, but the source has been known to dish, “It’s so unbelievable that it might be true” dirt:
Abel to Yzerman’s re-posted a rumor from HFBoards which suggests that Red Wings VP Jimmy Devellano, speaking on The Fan 590 on Friday night, stated that the team would sign Todd Bertuzzi during the next week.
This makes absolutely no sense in terms of the Red Wings’ needs–specifically, a thirteenth forward with bite, not a 15-to-20 goal-scorer with a penchant for taking undisciplined penalties.
Even at a league-minimum salary, Bertuzzi would eliminate the Wings’ salary cap space, and adding him would complicate the depth chart in terms of whether Darren Helm or Ville Leino would play active roles on the team (the concept that Kirk Maltby’s going to somehow magically be banished to the press box is a little too convenient for certain Wings fans—for better or what many deem worse, Maltby will play very regularly).
I should also note that The Fan tends to post its interviews on its audio page, Devellano’s late-nighters with Roger Lajoie included, with the kind of obsessive-compulsive regularity that I try to bring to this blog, so that’s another eyebrow-raiser.
The only reasons I give this rumor any credence is the fact that Devellano is known for conveniently leaking information when he thinks that nobody’s listening/reading (see: his regular appearances on The Fan 590 and comments to the Windsor Star) to stir things up, sometimes gauge fan opinions on an issue, and simply dish dirt..
http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/08/positing_a_red_wingsrelated_ru.html