"What are you the bottle police?": When Todd Bertuzzi chirped back at David Clarkson after heated dispute over a water bottle

Back in 2014, Todd Bertuzzi and David Clarkson had a hilarious fight regarding a water bottle. The pair, then with the Detroit Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively, had a long-drawn interaction over a bottle that was documented by HBO on their 'Road to the Winter Classic' presentation.

In order to hype up the Winter Classic, NHL's annual outdoor game, an HBO crew used to follow the two teams who were about to take part. That season's Winter Classic, coincidentally, was to feature the Red Wings and the Leafs at Michigan's Ann Arbor Stadium on New Year's Day.

Ten days before the showcase encounter in a regular season clash, the Red Wings and the Leafs met in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. As part of the production for the miniseries, players from both teams were mic'd up.

During the game, Bertuzzi would shoot a puck at the Leafs' goal that would hit the goaltender Jonathan Bernier's bottle.

David Clarkson was visibly upset and took it up with Todd Bertuzzi. He roughed him towards the side of the rink and the two had a serious exchange about the water bottle. In hindsight, in a sport where players often get into fights, the two battled over a puck hitting a bottle.

"Don't f**king hit his bottle," Clarkson had said in anger.

“The water bottle’s on the f**cking ground,” Bertuzzi had replied. “Don’t worry about a f**cking water bottle.”

“I am worried about a f**king water bottle,” Clarkson said. “It’s our f**king water bottle. Don’t f**king touch it.”

"I'll buy you one," Bertuzzi dismissed.

“Okay,” Clarkson said, “perfect, you buy me one.”

After an initial back and forth, the two again caught up near the center of the ice with Bertuzzi even asking if his opponent was a water bottle authority figure.

"What are you the bottle police?" Bertuzzi asked sarcastically.

David Clarkson's honest thoughts about the water bottle exchange with Todd Bertuzzi

Unsurpsingly, after HBO aired the the episode, reporters questioned Clarkson about the incident. He had stated that in the heat of the moment, it meant a lot to both players who would give their all to their teams.

“Afterward, people were like, ‘It seemed like five-year-old kids arguing over a bottle,’” Clarkson said. “It was funny. We both just play hard. I got a lot of respect for the way he plays, but I just think, at the end of the day, it’s one of those things where you have to want it more than the other guy.”

The Leafs would lose that game 4-5 after a shootout. But in a near identical repeat of the fixture in the next game, the Red Wings would go on to lose 2-3 after a shootout at the Winter Classic in front of 100k fans in Michigan.