Return of Toddzilla

I've had a couple of conversations with FUNHL GMs where I was asked what I thought about Bertuzzi being reinstated without any more games missed. One (ShadowBob) thought that he should have received at least some suspension for part of this season (5-10 games) and he further suggested that up to 20 games was in keeping with Bettman's desire to demark the 'new' NHL from the previous 'old' one.
I'll admit, I too thought (mostly because of the rampant speculation in the Vcr media) that he would get 10 games for this year.
Now, there are two ways of looking at Bertuzzi's suspension (I should say, at least two ways);

Version 1. Bettman is a softie. Suspending Bert the remainder of the season and the playoffs, and then reinstating him after the CBA is finished, doesn't seem that harsh for what is the worst on-ice incident in recent memory. This position is taken up by those who think he should have had a few more games suspension for this year, and would include presumably, Steve Moore and other sympathizers.

Version 2. Bettman is a Machiavellian genius. In this view, Bettman suspends Bert 'indefinitely' knowing the CBA will likely cost the league the season, that Bertuzzi will not be able to play hockey anywhere because of the suspension, and he then hangs Bert out to dry until the CBA is finalized, the entry draft is completed, the free agent season is underway, and most importantly, after the point where teams can cut contracts without them affecting the cap. In short, Bert loses; the end of his last season, the playoffs, a chance to play in the World Championship, and the ability to play hockey anywhere for a full year (he also lost; $500K in salary for the span of the suspension, and any salary he might have earned elsewhere during the lockout). Sure, many other NHL players (Yzerman, Blake, etc.) took the year off, but the fact remains, Toddzilla was suspended from playing for 17 months, and Vcr was effectively handcuffed to him until the reinstatement announcement was made.

I have to admit I believe more in Version 2, than 1. The NHL may have been unavailable to everyone, but hockey itself was unavailable to Bertuzzi for the full year. He had no choice, he could not play. I certainly won't equate a one quarter pay-check Euro-season with a full NHL season, but it is fair to say that his suspension was 17 months - and thus by far the longest in history. If there had been hockey last season would Bertuzzi have been allowed to play? Likely, yes, but equally likely, he would have a significant carry over of his suspension, and my guess would have been closer to the 20-40 game mark than the no games he got for this year.