During the introductory press conference in which the Detroit Red Wings announced former Colorado Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay as their newest face behind the bench, head coach Jeff Blashill provided an update on the health of captain Dylan Larkin and fellow forward Tyler Bertuzzi, both of whom missed extended time during the 2020-21 regular season due to injury.
Larkin, who missed the final eight games of the season with a neck injury, has yet to begin skating, but the team is satisfied with his recovery process so far.
“(Larkin) hasn’t started training yet, but I think he’s along the timeline that we expected in his recovery,” Blashill explained.
Meanwhile, Bertuzzi only played nine games during the regular season (during which he was Detroit’s leading scorer) thanks to a back injury that eventually required surgery in April.
“Tyler has probably been able to do a little bit more lately. I think he’s getting to the stage where you can get out of just pure rehab and get into training, strength training, try to build his body back up. Both of them are in good spirits and are headed in the right direction in terms of their recovery.”
And while Blashill noted that nothing is definite, the club expects both players to be ready for the start of training camp later this year in September.
“In this business you never know anything for sure,” Blashill said. “We expect both of their recoveries to be along a timeline that they’re ready for camp. Whether that happens, you just never know.”
