The Detroit Red Wings are waiting for test results that stem from Thursday night’s 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights, a game in which LW Tyler Bertuzzi missed the entire third period due to a lower-body injury. Bertuzzi is in a contract year and has not been healthy for long stretches this season. Whether Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman plans a contract extension or a trade, Bertuzzi’s value has taken a hit.
Fifteen games played, one goal, four assists with five points, a reminder that injuries can cripple a season. For Tyler Bertuzzi, a player who has been a solid contributor in past seasons in Detroit, injuries have piled up. Two broken hands, one suffered blocking a shot and one a fluke coming off a teammate’s stick, had Bertuzzi out a total of twelve weeks, and now a lower-body injury that saw Bertuzzi in discomfort as he skated off the ice Thursday night.
So where does this put Yzerman and the Red Wings? Yzerman has said in the past that he intends to sign both Bertuzzi and team captain Dylan Larkin to extensions. That could be the case; if so, Bertuzzi’s injuries have done him no favors at the negotiating table, where health and production heavily weigh on contracts.
If Yzerman feels he can speed up the organization’s rebuild by trading Tyler Bertuzzi, injuries have most assuredly damaged any possible return. How much is unknown. A healthy Bertuzzi putting up double-digit numbers would be a boon in a potential trade.
You have to feel for Bertuzzi, who is a fan favorite and whose grit and offensive talents have not been on full display this season. To suffer two injuries nearly back-to-back, forcing long recovery time after both, and now wait in limbo to see the extent of Thursday night’s injury is cruel to the player as much as the organization.
Where Steve Yzerman chooses to go from here is anyone’s guess. Both parties are hoping another extended layoff is not coming.
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