Snapshots: Bertuzzi, Leivo, Officiating, McDonald

Red Wings winger Tyler Bertuzzi will be out three-to-four weeks due to tendon inflammation in his wrist, GM Ken Holland told reporters including MLive’s Ansar Khan.  That will keep him out of the lineup for the first week or two of the season which should give converted defenseman Luke Witkowski a bit more of an edge on a lineup spot on the wing.

Bertuzzi will likely be headed for season-opening injured reserve which will allow them to prorate his cap hit.  Bertuzzi spent 50 days on the NHL roster last season (playing seven games with Detroit) so he will carry a discounted cap hit of nearly $184K on the Red Wings’ books once the season gets underway.

Other news and notes from around the league:

• The Leafs received at least one serious trade inquiry for winger Josh Leivo but placed a high asking price despite his status as a seldom-used player, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. It’s evident that the team still values him having protected Leivo from Vegas in expansion but Toronto’s winger depth is comparable to last season if not stronger.  As a result, the 24-year-old is likely to be on the outside looking in at a regular spot in the lineup once again which means there’s a good chance he’ll draw more trade interest in the coming weeks.
• While the NHL continues to crack down on faceoff and slashing violations, the league sent a memo to its officials on Friday to ask them to scale back the calls a little bit, reports Sportsnet’s John Shannon (Twitter link). Penalties for both of these are up substantially through the opening week of the preseason.  TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie clarified via Twitter that the toe on the line standard is what will be relaxed at the faceoff dot.
• Flyers winger Colin McDonald will be out an undisclosed number of weeks due to a lower-body injury, notes Andrew Kulp of CSN Philly. McDonald spent the bulk of last season with AHL Lehigh Valley but was with Philadelphia for a handful of games as well.  Accordingly, he will head on SOIR and count on their cap at a discounted rate similar to Bertuzzi in Detroit although his reduced charge checks in at a little over $14K.