Red Wings Notes: Zadina, Bertuzzi, Johansson

Filip Zadina’s return to the ice has had some ups and downs as the winger has dealt with various setbacks that have delayed his return.  However, he told team reporter Jonathan Mills that at this point, all he’s waiting for is the sign-off from team doctors to return to the lineup with the hopes of getting in before next week’s All-Star break.  Zadina has missed a bit more than ten weeks due to a lower-body injury, one that was initially supposed to sideline him for six to eight weeks.  He has been limited to just nine games this season and is still looking for his first point which isn’t the type of bounce-back anyone was hoping for in the first year of his three-year bridge deal

More from Detroit:

• Winger Tyler Bertuzzi is also nearing a return as MLive’s Ansar Khan reports (Twitter link) that the veteran is expected to return on Thursday against Montreal. The 27-year-old suffered a lower-body injury back last Thursday and has missed the last two games.  This season hasn’t gone anywhere near the way Bertuzzi had hoped as he has missed time with three separate injuries and has just a goal and four assists in 15 games.  That’s hardly the type of production he was hoping for heading into the final year of his contract with his first crack at unrestricted free agency to follow.
• Prospect Anton Johansson has signed an upgraded contract, per an announcement from SHL Leksand. The 18-year-old defenseman was a fourth-round pick last summer (105th overall) and started the year at the junior level but has played in 13 games with Leksand at the top level.  That playing time necessitated an adjusted contract but it still only runs through this season.  However, it’s likely that Johansson will remain in the SHL for the foreseeable future which will be a good test development-wise.