Berard Back on the Blue Line

Bryan Berard was back in the lineup last night for the first time in over a year. He has finally recovered from surgery to alleviate that pain from two herniated discs in his back.

I can imagine how his conversation went when he sat down on the bench:
Foote: "Hey man, welcome back."
Berard: "Good to be here. What did I miss?"
Foote: "Nothing much."
Berard: "Who's the big guy with the white hair?"
Foote: "Coach Hitchcock."
Berard: "No kidding. Is that Doug E. Doug wearing number 77?"
Foote: "Nope. Anson Carter. Picked him up over the summer."
Berard: "Oh. What happened to Leclaire?"
Foote: "Traded for two guys named Fred."
Berard: "You don't say... Anything else?"
Foote: "Britney and K-Fed split up."
Berard: "Nooooooo!!!!"

It's good to have him back. Berard is the kind of guy I like to have on our blue line, despite his 20/400 vision in one eye. Last season he put up more than 30 points in 44 games, and the Jackets need every point they can get right now. Unfortunately, none of those points came last night in Edmonton, where the Jackets four game winning streak came to a screeching halt.

I could do without the steroids though. For those who don't recall, Berard was the first ever NHL player to have knowledgeably used anabolic steroids. According to wikipedia, he was neither suspended nor punished by the NHL because the league did not administer the steroid test. He was banned from international play for two years following the incident. He's still got a year left on that ordeal.

Welcome back Berard. You're gonna have to hit the ice skating (read: ground running) if you wanna get this team where it wants to go.