The subject of a new Canada Post stamp bears an uncanny resemblance to former Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi – and the coincidence is raising eyebrows among local collectors.

The $0.63 stamp is one of several NHL stamps recently released by Canada Post.

According to All Nations Stamp and Coin owner Brian Grant Duff, the hockey players depicted on the collectibles are meant to be generic-looking composite images.

But when Grant Duff got his first look at the Canucks’ stamp Tuesday morning, his first reaction was “Whoa, that looks like Bertuzzi.”

To confirm his suspicions, he asked others for their opinions.

“I quietly showed the image around without suggesting who it might look like and said ‘Hey, what Canuck do you think this looks like?' Most people said Bertuzzi,” Grant Duff said. “So it’s curious that the composite…resembles a famous Canuck and an infamous Canuck whose ghost haunts us all a little bit.”

Grant Duff said it’s likely just a coincidence that the player in the Canucks jersey resembles Bertuzzi – and he thinks the stamps should stay.

“I think it’s great they’ve done some stamps for the NHL teams,” he said. “I think it’s great for the league that they’re out now and great for stamp collectors.”

A spokesman for Canada Post later confirmed the stamp “was not intended to reflect the likeness of Mr. Bertuzzi and that any resemblance is purely coincidental.”

The controversy surrounding Bertuzzi stems from an incident during a game on March 8, 2004, in Vancouver between the Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche.

Bertuzzi, then with the Canucks, attacked Colorado's Moore from behind and punched him in the side of the head, driving him to the ice. Moore suffered three broken vertebrae, deep facial cuts and never played in the NHL again.

Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing bodily harm in the criminal trial that followed the incident. He was sentenced to a year's probation and 80 hours of community service. He was also served a multi-game suspension by the NHL.

With files from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward and The Canadian Press