Bertuzzi readies for his return

VANCOUVER -- Nine years of personal fulfillment, professional satisfaction and public embarrassment.

Todd Bertuzzi covered the whole spectrum during those years in Vancouver as a member of the city’s beloved Canucks, and the memories are flowing freely in the hours before his first game back tonight in General Motors Place, this time skating for the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks.

Bertuzzi has sought to focus on the present since he signed with the Ducks as a free agent last summer. As for denying the impact of his time here, where he had his best and worst moments, there’s no use in trying.

“It’s going to be different, obviously going in there again,” Bertuzzi said.

“Any time you’re fortunate enough to spend nine great years in a city like that, meet the people that I’ve met and have the kind of friends that I have up there, it’s very important to me and my family.

“Yeah, it’s going to be different.”

The Ducks are his third team since those salad days, but Bertuzzi is returning for the first time since being traded to Florida for Roberto Luongo in 2006 in a five-player deal.

The interest here is so intense that to accommodate all the inquiries, the Ducks took the rare step of arranging a news conference before tonight’s game.

But to Bertuzzi, it’s nothing that he hasn’t handled before.

“I’ve been asked tougher questions,” he said. “I’ve been around tougher situations. So I’m pretty sure I’ll be all right.”

His Vancouver story is often told. It is where he became the NHL’s most feared power forward, a rare 6-foot-3, 245-pound combination of skill and grit that produced 188 of his 227 career goals over seven-plus seasons, including a career-high 46 in 2002-03.

It is also the site of his March 8, 2004, on-ice attack on former Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, an incident that resulted in Bertuzzi’s 13-game suspension -- the remainder of that season.

With the subsequent lockout, Bertuzzi was away from the game for 17 months. Moore, however, has been unable to resume his career because of lingering concussion-like symptoms.

Bertuzzi naturally prefers to recall the days when he, Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison helped make the Canucks a playoff contender after years of being a mediocre team.

“Coming in there, our team wasn’t very good at the time,” Bertuzzi said. “We weren’t selling out and we were there in a transition time. Obviously it was nice to be part of bringing that city back to where it should be and to where it is today.

“It’s a place that I love. It’s where my kids were born. A lot of really good hockey memories, a lot of good things happened there.”

Left wing Brad May, a teammate then and now, said he expects that Vancouver will give him a favorable reception.

“I would think things are going to be very positive,” May said. “It’ll be real exciting for him. He was a fixture. I think the people will be terrific.”

Bertuzzi acknowledged that he is curious about the reaction he’ll receive tonight.

“I’d probably be lying to you if I said I didn’t,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen. In the city, it’s always the 90% that like you, the 5% who really don’t know much about you and then that 5% who just can’t stand you. Hopefully that 5% is not there.”

The last part was said in jest as he added, “Nah, it’s going to be fun to go back and see some familiar faces. Hopefully I can get my scoring touch back in that rink.”

The touch may have already returned. Sidelined for 14 games because of a concussion, Bertuzzi had his best game in Sunday’s 3-2 comeback victory over the Kings, contributing two assists and dishing out punishing hits on Rob Blake and Derek Armstrong.

Coach Randy Carlyle said he can see that Bertuzzi, who reported to camp at a trim 231 pounds, is starting to become comfortable.

“It’s hard to have an assessment when you don’t have the player,” Carlyle said. “It’s not even 10 games. So he’s trying to feel his teammates and trying to find where he fits and all that. We’ll be patient and we’ll review his shifts and what not.”

Said Bertuzzi: “It takes a little bit of time, especially when you haven’t been there for a little while and you’re trying to jump back in there and trying to go full speed.”

--

TONIGHT

at Vancouver, 7, FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- General Motors Place.

Radio -- 830.

Records -- Ducks 11-9-4; Canucks 12-9-2.

Record vs. Canucks (2006-2007) -- 3-0-1.

Update -- The Ducks finished their 10-game stretch against Pacific Division teams with a 6-2-2 record, earning 14 out of a possible 20 points to pull out of a 5-7-2 start. Vancouver has also improved of late, going 7-1-2 in its last 10 games. Ducks left wing Drew Miller, who has a slight left knee strain, skated Monday and joined the team in Vancouver. He remains day to day.

--

eric.stephens@latimes.com