Ahead of the Detroit Red Wings’ first pre-season game at Little Caesars Arena, they received some news on the injury front.
Forward Tyler Bertuzzi is suffering from tendon inflammation in his wrist and will be out at least the next 3-4 weeks, according to General Manager Ken Holland. Bertuzzi was attempting to crack the opening night roster for Detroit.
Bertuzzi, 22, was named the MVP of the AHL playoffs last season after scoring 19 points in 19 playoff games for Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He had 37 points in 48 regular-season games.
Before suffering a high ankle sprain, Bertuzzi appeared in seven games for the Red Wings last season, but didn’t record any points.
During the 2017 NHL Draft, head coach Jeff Blashill had high praise for Bertuzzi, and explained his thought that he would blossom into a “real good” NHL player.
“Bert to me is somebody that looks like he is on the verge of becoming a real good NHL player,” Blashill said. “He brings a lot of qualities that we don’t have – he’s hard and has skill. We’ve got a lot of guys with skill that might not be hard. We’ve got some guys that are hard that might not have as much skill. He’s got a pretty good package in my opinion, as a fit on our team. I think the playoffs he had certainly puts him in position to grab a spot next year and make our team better.”
Because he is exempt from waivers for another season, Bertuzzi can be assigned to Grand Rapids once his injury has healed. Detroit kicks off the regular season on October 5 at Little Caesars Arena against the visiting Minnesota Wild.
