It’s official: Tyler Bertuzzi will miss the remainder of this season due to injury.
We feared this would be the case as we got closer and closer to May with no positive updates on the 26-year-old left wing.
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Bertuzzi, 26, has not played since Jan. 30 due to an upper-body injury. He appeared in nine games for the Red Wings this season, and was leading the team in goals when he was forced out (5 goals, 2 assists).
Read: Dear Red Wings: Rebuild timeline; Veleno up; Raymond signs
Bertuzzi had scored 21 goals in consecutive seasons. He was an All-Star during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and finished leading the team in goals along with having career highs in assists (27) and points (48) for the NHL’s worst team.
He went through contract arbitration during 2020, finally signing a one-year dear worth $3.5 million with Detroit in October. He becomes a restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of this season.
Where does he go from here? The severity of his injury -- something the team has not elaborated about -- could have a profound impact on his next contract, you would imagine.
Detroit drafted Bertuzzi in the second round of the 2013 draft. He is a nephew of former NHL player Todd Bertuzzi.
Frans Nielsen also done for season
Meanwhile, veteran forward Frans Nielsen also will not return to play this season due to a lower body injury, the Red Wings announced Thursday.
The 36-year-old is in the fifth year of a six-year contract with Detroit ($5.25 million cap hit). He won’t be a free agent until 2022. The question is will he be bought out by the Red Wings this offseason?
The Red Wings announced earlier in April that forward Bobby Ryan would not return due to his injury.
Captain Dylan Larkin is out with an injury, too, as of Thursday, along with forward Robby Fabbri.
The Red Wings, sitting in 7th out of eight spots in the Central Division, have eight games left on their schedule.