While this season hasn’t entirely gone to plan for Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, as a pending unrestricted free agent he was expected to be a top player on the forward market this trade deadline season. Now, with Detroit well within the playoff hunt, it seems trade conversations regarding Bertuzzi have halted. On the 32 Thoughts segment of last night’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that there is a growing belief that as long as the Red Wings remain in the hunt for a playoff spot, Bertuzzi is “not available” for trade.
Bertuzzi’s season thus far has not been entirely impressive (he’s struggled to stay healthy and has scored 12 points in 24 games) but it was just one year ago that he scored 30 goals and 62 points in just 68 games for Detroit. If interested clubs believe that the Bertuzzi of last season is a more accurate reflection of his talent than what he has put forth this year, it is no surprise that he would garner trade interest. Forwards who can score while also playing with an edge to their game are highly coveted, so it stands to reason that Detroit could expect a solid return package if Bertuzzi were dealt. But since the Red Wings currently have a chance to stop their playoff drought from stretching to seven seasons in length, it seems they’d prefer to keep their homegrown winger.
Some other notes on the upcoming trade deadline:
- Calls inquiring on the trade availability of Anaheim Ducks defenseman Dmitry Kulikov are poised to increase sharply as the market for Columbus Blue Jackets blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov tightens. Marek noted on 32 Thoughts to “expect attention” to be paid to Kulikov by teams who miss out on Gavrikov. Kulikov, 32, is a steady left-shot defenseman who plays a solid defensive game and is currently the Ducks’ leader in penalty-killing ice time. He’s on an expiring $2.25MM AAV deal, and one would expect that the Ducks, with over $60MM in projected deadline cap space per CapFriendly, would have no issue retaining salary to make a deal work.
- Another name expected to generate interest around the trade deadline is that of Blue Jackets netminder Joonas Korpisalo. The pending unrestricted free agent’s box score numbers in 26 games this year are solid (.913 save percentage) and his underlying numbers are similarly good, if not better. On 32 Thoughts, Marek said to expect teams in need of goaltending help to target the one-time NHL All-Star Game selection.
User 318310488
I’m not seeing the value in Bertuzzi, He’s pushing 30, He hasn’t yet played 300 NHL games, And the big one of course is the fact that Injuries have plagued his entire career, He’s a huge gamble as far as I’m concerned.
dswaim
Agreed. Also consider he likely won’t be getting 1st line minutes anywhere else so his numbers will further decline a la Anthony Mantha
Johnny Z
Bert is 27 and far from over the hill. LOL
He had a rough season but is getting back to form. Well worth a late 1st round pick. I think he could be signed now for a 1-2 year contract for around $5M, a very good value!
66TheNumberOfTheBest
I figured I’d be the low man on Bertuzzi. I don’t think he’s great but 62 points in 68 games is something, even if it is a fluke year.
I would think they could get a late first for him or a pair of seconds for him.