The first thing that jumps out about Todd Bertuzzi as he zig-zags around the ice is that he's 20 pounds lighter and looks 10 years younger.

Bertuzzi, now 32, says he feels better than he has in a long time and is ready to do some damage this season with the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, who kick off the NHL season Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings at London's 02 Arena (CBC, noon ET).

After last season was a writeoff due to back problems, Bertuzzi spent the summer trimming down.

"I think after you go through a year of having surgery and having back problems, I think maybe carrying the 245 and 250 (pounds) around maybe took its toll on it," Bertuzzi said. "So I thought I'd try a new route and see if I can stay healthy.

"Knock on wood, it's actually been a blessing."

Ducks GM Brian Burke says signing the winger to an US$8-million, two-year deal wasn't a gamble despite the back problems that limited Bertuzzi to 15 regular-season games last season with Florida and Detroit.

"I'm much more comfortable with Todd, because I had him as a player (in Vancouver) and I know his character," said Burke. "Our doctors, when he passed his physical, said there is no health issue there that they're worried about. This is the lightest he's been - he hasn't played at this weight since he was 17.

"I know this player, I'm not worried about him fitting in, and I'm not worried about what he can do on the ice."

Bertuzzi wants to repay Burke for believing in him.

"And with that comes the pressure to perform," said Bertuzzi. "I think it's something that I need. There's nothing better than to have a little pressure on you to go out and perform. Obviously I'm fortunate that there was an opening on a Stanley Cup roster for me. So I've got to go there and make the best of it and play hard."

He's landed in a comfortable spot. His old GM from his days with the Canucks is running the show and his best friend Brad May is in the dressing room.

"Honestly, no mistaking this, we're very, very good friends," said May, a former teammate in Vancouver. "Our families are very close . . . I was a happy guy when I heard (Bertuzzi signed in Anaheim)."

Bertuzzi has also landed in a market that will largely leave him alone. Despite being Cup champs, there's a small media contingent that regularly covers the Ducks. That means fewer questions, especially about his March 2004 attack on Colorado's Steve Moore.

Because he's largely been left alone so far in Ducks camp, there's a noticeable difference in Bertuzzi's demeanour. He's not on the defensive, he's more open and jokes around with the media.

Why the change?

"It's because I'm not being asked the same questions every single day - Monday to Sunday," said Bertuzzi. "If I asked you the same question every day, how would you deal with it? I do not have 15 different answers for the same question. I just don't. There's no way to deal with it.

"It feels great now, not to hear about it every day."

But try as he might, Bertuzzi's attack on Moore will continue to surface from time to time. A jovial media scrum became solemn for just a moment when a reporter brought up the Moore incident.

The reporter wondered if Bertuzzi was getting a lot of questions about Moore because he was starting over with a new team.

Bertuzzi wasn't interested in talking about the past. "Anyone else? Anyone want to ask anyone about the game?" was his response.

He wants to move on and he says he's fitting in with the Cup champs.

"That's why they won the Cup, because they've got a close-knit team," he said. "And it doesn't matter who you are and where you came from - the transition was fairly quick and easy."

Star defenceman Chris Pronger spent most of his career hammering away at Bertuzzi as an opponent trying to stop the dangerous power forward. He welcomes him as a teammate and feels Bertuzzi will be motivated to silence his critics.

"It's a way for him to shove it where the sun don't shine and show people what he's still got left, the type of player he can still be," said Pronger. "I know guys are excited to have him on the team. We heard nothing but great things about him when he played in Detroit last year. Reputations follow people around a long time, that's why people deserve second chances. He was a young guy when he was in New York and Vancouver and was brandished a certain way.

"When you go through the situations that he's gone through, you grow up a lot and you get a different outlook on life."

Said May: "He's a hell of a hockey player and he's going to show it."

Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle has partnered Bertuzzi with rising star forward Ryan Getzlaf for most of training camp and pre-season. They'll likely start together on a line Saturday. That's first-line duty for Bertuzzi.

"He's the type of player that takes two people to defend him, he's that big and strong," said Carlyle. "And his abilities, he can take two people to the net and if he can do that consistently we think that would be one of his strongest assets for us."

But has the power forward lost a bit of power by shedding the pounds?

"If anything I think it's better, I'm more mobile," Bertuzzi said. "Let's face it, the league is getting quicker and quicker. These kids coming up are faster and faster - and big. I think you either change with the times or you get lost in the shuffle. I think that was one of the keys."

*** Taken from the Hockey News ***