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Tyler Bertuzzi

Snapshots: Bertuzzi, Larsson, Bergeron, White, Chara

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While Red Wings winger Tyler Bertuzzi has been in some trade speculation as of late, he told reporters including MLive’s Ansar Khan that his desire is to stay with Detroit, the team that drafted him back in the second round in 2013.  The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal with a $4.75MM AAV and will become an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason.  He sits second on the team in scoring this season with 49 points in 51 games which means GM Steve Yzerman would be placing a very high price tag if a contender wants to take a run at adding Bertuzzi today.

Other news and notes around the league:

  • The Coyotes have made some progress on a trade involving center Johan Larsson, reports PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has been out for nearly two months with a lower-body injury but is nearing a return. Larsson has 15 points in 29 games this season but has been a checker for most of his career which is the role contending teams would have in mind for him.  With a $1.4MM AAV, he’s someone several teams will be able to afford.
  • Boston is hoping that center Patrice Bergeron will be able to return from his arm injury for Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay, note Elaine Cavalieri and Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team site. The veteran will miss his third straight game tonight against Montreal and has 45 points in 56 games this season.
  • Senators center Colin White is someone that a couple of league executives believes in play, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 25-year-old recently returned to the lineup after missing the first 50 games of the year with a shoulder injury.  He has six points in a dozen contests but with three years remaining on his deal with a $4.75MM AAV, it would be surprising to see him moved unless Ottawa is willing to take a similar-sized deal in return.
  • The Oilers are among the teams to check in on Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara, Chris Johnston reports in his latest Toronto Star column. The 45-year-old is still averaging more than 18 minutes a night and with a base cap hit of just the league minimum of $750K, he’s someone that they should be able to afford with their limited cap space.  Chara also has another $750K in undisclosed performance bonuses which an acquiring team may become responsible for absorbing although that can roll over to next year’s cap if necessary.

Red Wings Place Tyler Bertuzzi In COVID Protocol

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The Red Wings will be without one of their top forwards for tonight’s contest against the Kraken as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Bertuzzi has been placed in COVID protocol.

Bertuzzi is now the only remaining NHL player to decline the COVID vaccination which has prevented him from crossing the border to play road games in Canada this season.  Despite that, he’s off to the best start of his career with nine goals and nine assists in 20 games, good for third on Detroit in scoring.  That will obviously be put on hold again with him being added to the list of those in the protocol.

As is always important to note when a team places a player into protocol, it doesn’t mean that it’s a confirmed positive test.  However, if it does turn out that he has tested positive, then Bertuzzi will be out for at least ten days.  Detroit, who is carrying a full 23-player roster, would be eligible to designate him as non-roster status, allowing them to bring someone up from AHL Grand Rapids to take Bertuzzi’s place.  With this announcement coming just before puck drop, that won’t be an option tonight but since they’re off until Saturday after this one, they’ll be able to add someone in time for their next game.

Canada To Close Border To Unvaccinated Athletes

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As Coronavirus concerns persist, the clock is ticking for unvaccinated NHLers to travel freely across the Canadian border. The Canadian Press reports that the country has decided to end its current leniency toward athletes and will enforce its national COVID protocol. Beginning January 15, unvaccinated athletes will not be permitted to cross the border.

The announcement of this policy change came on Friday, as Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendocino stated that the border will be closing to unvaccinated and partially vaccinated athletes in the new year. It was Mendocino who worked through the details of the current national interest exemption, which allows unvaccinated professional and amateur athletes to travel across the border under conditions, but they will now repeal that agreement with the NHL, as well as the MLB, NBA, and MLS. While the stated purpose of the change is to align with the next stage of Canada’s COVID battle by improving vaccination rates, the requirement applies to athletes of all nationalities.

Fortunately, this should have a negligible effect on the NHL overall. Commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the beginning of the season that only four players on NHL rosters were unvaccinated. That number may need updating given roster transactions, but this policy change will still be of no concern to more than 99% of players. While the league has never formally revealed the names of those initial four names, Detroit’s Tyler Bertuzzi and New Jersey’s Mackenzie Blackwood had been individually confirmed and, if still not fully vaccinated, would not be permitted to travel to Canada after January 15 and per NHL rules could be suspended by their teams for those absences. However, those are the few cases of concern out of hundreds of NHL players, making this change of little consequence to the league.

Atlantic Notes: Bertuzzi, Pinto, Mrazek, Bruins

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The Red Wings are declining to disclose whether or not they have suspended winger Tyler Bertuzzi for tonight’s game in Montreal, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).  Bertuzzi was unable to accompany the team on their trip as he’s unvaccinated which gives Detroit the option to suspend him without pay.  That’s not a mandatory requirement, however, and as they’re well below the salary cap, the potential for savings on that front wouldn’t make much of a difference.  Head coach Jeff Blashill indicated that they prefer to “keep it internally” when it comes to their decision on the 26-year-old who has five goals in four games so far this season.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Senators will know more about the extent of Shane Pinto’s injury this weekend, relays Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The team is hopeful that the rookie center won’t be out for long after sustaining what appeared to be a shoulder injury on Thursday versus San Jose.  Pinto made an immediate impact after turning pro late last season with seven points in twelve games and has an assist in four contests this season.
  • Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek is progressing as anticipated in his recovery from a groin injury, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan. The netminder will accompany Toronto on their upcoming three-game road trip although he may not be able to get back in the lineup next week.
  • The Bruins will be without both Anton Blidh and Nick Foligno for their game tomorrow against Buffalo, the team announced (Twitter link). Foligno left Wednesday’s game with an upper-body injury while Blidh was injured Friday in his first appearance of the season.  Head coach Bruce Cassidy stated the expectation is that Jack Studnicka will be recalled from AHL Providence.

Tyler Bertuzzi Declines Vaccine, Won’t Travel To Canada With Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings expect to be shorthanded when they travel to Montreal to battle the Canadiens on October 23. GM Steve Yzerman explained that Tyler Bertuzzi, the Red Wings’ third-highest paid forward, has declined the COVID-19 vaccine and the team anticipates that he will not travel with the club to Canada this season.

Tyler will follow the protocols for non-vaccinated players. Most significant, and not really a part of the protocol, is that as of now and for the forseeable future, you can’t enter Canada unless you are vaccinated. So that obviously will be an issue when we go to play Canadian teams. 

As of now, under the Canadian laws, he won’t be able to cross the border so he wouldn’t be able to play in any games in Canada. 

Because unvaccinated players are not expected to be paid for games/days missed due to COVID-related absences, including those caused by government restrictions and quarantines, Bertuzzi would be forfeiting $191K just for the nine gamedays the Red Wings have scheduled against Canadian teams. With travel days added (along with days in between games on their Western Canada trip from March 12-17) he could be forfeiting quite a bit more.

That said, the Red Wings didn’t actually confirm that Bertuzzi will be suspended during those trips, meaning there is still a chance he could receive his full salary. The benefit of a short suspension, other than saving money for the organization, is that teams will receive corresponding cap relief for those days away from the roster. The Red Wings, who currently sit $15MM under the salary cap ceiling, wouldn’t benefit much from that added space.

Even though deputy commissioner Bill Daly projected just 10-15 players would be unvaccinated when the season begins, that will still pose an issue for some teams as they resume traveling around North America. Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland admitted today that one of his team’s players has also declined the vaccination, though he did not identify the player. While Bertuzzi may only miss eight games, Holland explained that his player could miss up to 30 given the quarantine that would be required for cross-border travel.

Red Wings Re-Sign Tyler Bertuzzi

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The Red Wings have taken care of one of their top restricted free agents, announcing that they’ve signed winger Tyler Bertuzzi to a two-year contract.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries a $4.75MM AAV and will pay him $4.25MM next season and $5.25MM in 2022-23.

The 26-year-old was limited to just nine games last season due to a back injury that required surgery at the end of April.  Bertuzzi was still productive in his short stint, however, as he still notched five goals and two assists in those contests.  Prior to 2020-21, he had two straight seasons of 21 goals and had established himself as an important part of their top line.

Despite the limited action, Bertuzzi still landed a nice raise on the $3.5MM salary he made last season.  Part of the reason for that is that the contract buys out his first year of UFA eligibility while also covering his final year of arbitration eligibility.  It’s a deal that doesn’t carry much risk for either side as it’s a short-term commitment for Detroit while allowing Bertuzzi a couple of seasons to show he can stay healthy and that the back injury is behind him before entering the UFA market at the age of 28.

GM Steve Yzerman still has plenty of work to do with his restricted free agents as defenseman Filip Hronek plus wingers Adam Erne and Jakub Vrana are still in need of new contracts.  Hronek isn’t arbitration-eligible but has been a consistent point producer over his three NHL seasons, Erne is coming off a career-high in goals with 11, and Vrana made an immediate impact after being acquired at the trade deadline and will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after scoring 68 goals over the past three seasons.

East Notes: Detroit UFAs, Danault, Penguins Expansion

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Action is heating up quickly in the NHL this week. Trade and free agent rumors are aplenty, all fueled by the tantalizingly close Seattle Expansion Draft on July 21st. But while fans’ adrenaline is running high after today’s Ryan Graves trade earlier, there’s a variety of other news and notes from around the Eastern Conference to look at today.

  • While most of the hype surrounding the Detroit Red Wings lately has been the trade potential of Tyler Bertuzzi, there’s still decisions that the team needs to make elsewhere on the roster. A Detroit offseason piece from The Athletic’s Max Bultman reports that Detroit is interesting in bringing back a pair of pending UFAs in Jonathan Bernier and Luke Glendening. Bernier’s been a very solid netminder for Detroit since arriving in 2018-19. His best season was undoubtedly this last one, posting a 9-11-1 record and .914 save percentage, both his best numbers since signing with the Wings. He forms a decent pairing with Thomas Greiss, who’s still under contract, and would help the Wings stay afloat. There’s also Glendening, who’s passable defensively and gained positive notoriety for his faceoff prowess. Both extensions, hypothetically, would be affordable and decent moves for the rebuilding Wings.
  • The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reports that the Montreal Canadiens are likely to let center Phillip Danault test the market. While this may be a shock to some, there’s a sort of backstory to this. It was widely reported last summer that general manager Marc Bergevin had offered Danault a six-year deal with a $5MM cap hit. That’s still Montreal’s offer, according to Basu and others. Montreal and Danault are both keeping the door open in case he can’t receive better offers on the open market, leading one to believe that the relationship is still amicable between the two. However, it’s reasonable to think that Danault would receive a better offer from a variety of teams desperate to improve their center depth, making a return to Montreal anything but certain.
  • In a piece by The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark examining how recent moves have affected the Seattle Expansion Draft landscape, he notes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely be exposing one of either Jeff Carter or Kasperi Kapanen. It comes on the heels of center Teddy Blueger signing a two-year extension, signaling that Pittsburgh plans to protect him. If it’s Carter exposed, that could have ramifications for Pittsburgh’s center depth early on in the season, as Evgeni Malkin won’t be ready to start the season. If it’s Kapanen, that’s an extremely dangerous proposition. They gave up significant assets last year to acquire him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’d be inarguably poor asset management to let him walk for nothing.

Leafs Notes: Hyman, Bertuzzi, Assistant Coaches

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While this offseason promises intrigue no matter what, the Toronto Maple Leafs are undoubtedly going to bring an added element of excitement for hockey fans over the coming weeks. After a fifth straight first-round playoff loss, general manager Kyle Dubas will be under immense pressure this month to bring in names to help the team perform at a higher level throughout the regular season and playoffs. Many details are starting to emerge about Toronto’s plans for next season and how their roster may look. One thing that’s becoming apparent is that Zach Hyman likely isn’t part of the Maple Leafs’ future, as Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts column notes that an extension for the forward is unlikely to happen. Hyman’s received interest from both the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, both teams who can and likely will offer him more money and term than Toronto is willing to offer. The absence of Hyman leaves a hole in the team’s top-six forward group that will need to be filled. It appears as though the Leafs already have some ideas about how to approach this:

  • In a Saturday radio hit from Friedman, he mentions that the Leafs are circling back with the Detroit Red Wings about winger Tyler Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi, who missed all but nine games this season with a back injury, carries some financial uncertainty as he’s a pending restricted free agent. With him missing the past season due to injury, however, it’s likely that Bertuzzi only signs a one-year deal whether he’s dealt or not, taking him through his final year of RFA eligibility. It would keep the cost down for the Maple Leafs, who’ll continue to look to add at all positions this offseason.
  • There’s little surprise that after such a disappointing end to the season, Toronto would look to shake up their coaching staff. An unbelievably poor power-play unit left a nasty streak on what was otherwise a successful regular season, prompting potential changes among head coach Sheldon Keefe’s associates. Friedman also reports in 31 Thoughts that the team may bring in former Arizona Coyotes bench boss Rick Tocchet as an assistant. While his time in the desert didn’t yield too much success, Tocchet’s garnered a solid track record as an assistant, especially during his time working with the Pittsburgh Penguins – in which he won back-to-back Stanley Cups. Friedman also mentioned Montreal Canadiens assistant Luke Richardson as a possible hire, but it’s unlikely the team would let him go. Richardson was a large part of Montreal’s playoff run, stepping in as the interim head coach while Dominique Ducharme missed the majority of their series against the Vegas Golden Knights due to COVID protocol.

Tyler Bertuzzi Undergoes Back Surgery

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Tyler Bertuzzi’s season will end with just nine games played. The Detroit Red Wings forward underwent successful back surgery on April 30 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and is expected to make a full recovery. Bertuzzi should be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season.

The 26-year-old forward last played on January 30, scoring his fifth goal of the season in the first nine games. He looked like he was well on his way to a third consecutive 20-goal season, but things quickly went off the rails. He was listed out with an upper-body injury for most of the season and even back in April, the team was clear the focus was on the 2021-22 campaign.

Now Bertuzzi faces a long rehab, but also a summer of negotiation. After receiving a one-year, $3.5MM contract through arbitration last offseason, he is scheduled to become a restricted free agent again and for the final time. An arbitration award this summer would take him right to unrestricted free agency in 2022, so the two sides must decide if a multi-year deal can be reached.

Now with the feisty forward coming off a back injury, there’s good reason for the Red Wings to be hesitant, but perhaps that gives them an opportunity to lock him in at a reduced price. He’s a very useful piece when healthy, though Detroit GM Steve Yzerman does seem committed to a younger group moving forward. Anthony Mantha, one of the team’s other former core pieces, was dealt to the Washington Capitals at the deadline, meaning no player in the organization is signed to a one-way contract past the 2022-23 season.

Bertuzzi is one of 13 pending RFAs and one of 30 free agents of any kind, meaning Detroit can completely overhaul the depth chart if Yzerman sees fit. Right now, all the young forward can control is his rehab process and getting to full strength by the start of next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Injury Notes: Bertuzzi, Brown, Sundqvist

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The prognosis is not good for Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi and a potential return this season. Bertuzzi, who got off to a hot start early this season and looked like he could be in for a breakout campaign, was instead injured before January was even over and has not played since. According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Bertuzzi has not been making consistent progress toward a return in the past six weeks either. Head coach Jeff Blashill has stated that Bertuzzi’s rehab of his undisclosed upper-body injury has been “back-and-forth” and at the current time he is not skating. Blashill believes that Bertuzzi is not “close at all” to a return. The coach says that they are taking the situation day-by-day and that all options are on the table, including season-ending surgery. While the Red Wings are not playing for a playoff spot this season, there is still reason to avoid sending Bertuzzi under the knife if he is able to get back to full strength without it. Blashill did acknowledge that they will not rush Bertuzzi back before he is ready and that they need to see him skating over a longer period of time before they will even consider a return this year. Everything seems to be pointing toward Bertuzzi likely being done for the year in this shortened season.

  • Another player who has not yet returned to skating is young Ottawa Senators forward Logan Brown. Brown, whose usage (or lack thereof) by the Senators has been a hot topic in Ottawa, suffered an undisclosed injury in practice earlier this month. Though not initially believed to be a long-term absence, Brown’s injury still lingers. AHL Belleville head coach Troy Mann tells The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch that Brown has yet to return to the ice since his injury occurred and “isn’t close”. Mann does not expect the prospect center to be back in action any time soon. This was intended to be a make-or-break year for Brown; the No. 11 overall pick from 2016 had been used sparingly through his first two pro seasons, playing in just 29 total NHL games, but this year was supposed to see him earn a regular role. Instead, he has yet to suit up for Ottawa at all in 2020-21. Prior to his injury, GM Pierre Dorion shared that there were plans to give Brown his shot later this season, but that is now in doubt given the apparent severity of his injury and a possible prolonged absence. Brown will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, with little to show for his entry-level contract.
  • The St. Louis Blues continue to have tough luck with injuries this season. Whenever a player returns to the lineup, it seems another is forced out. This time, Oskar Sundqvist is the victim. The veteran forward suffered an injury on Friday night in a collision with teammate Kyle Clifford and had to leave the game. The team has announced that the lower-body injury will sideline Sundqvist indefinitely, but that more information will be known following an MRI next week. Sundqvist is one of eleven Blues currently out with an injury or ailment.

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