When the Red Wings lost Tyler Bertuzzi last season, it became clear how much they need him. He scored five goals in Detroit's first nine games before going down for the year with a back injury and before the Wings finished second to last in the NHL in goals scored. Bertuzzi maintained at least a tie for the team lead in goals until the season was nearly halfway over.
If anything, Bertuzzi's injury may have increased his value to Detroit entering another summer of restricted free agency. He signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal with the Wings over the weekend, a substantial raise from $3.5 million last season to an average of $4.75 million this season and next.
"No one wanted to go to arbitration," Bertuzzi said. "That wasn't even in our heads. We knew we would get something done and come to even ground, and I think both sides are really happy."
The two sides weren't able to avoid arbitration last year. After Bertuzzi was awarded less than what he was seeking on the heels of an All-Star season, he talked about needing to "prove myself" further. In some ways, he did that in nine games. Now he has to prove he can stay healthy, while sustaining his uptick in production.
He said the two-year agreement "worked out for both sides."
"It can't be one-sided. I think this way it gives me two years to prove that I can stay healthy and still play and be good, and it gives them time to look at me and say, 'OK, yeah, he's still healthy, he's good,'" Bertuzzi said.
Bertuzzi, 26, underwent back surgery in April and expects to be 100 percent for the start of training camp. He said last season was taxing physically and mentally, "just being in pain every day." He said anytime he tried to get back on the ice, his back "would flare up on me again." He ultimately decided surgery was the best option, and he's "really happy with how everything went."
"Just back to normal life, working out, skating, I'm excited about that," he said.
A second-round pick in 2013, Bertuzzi remains a key piece of Detroit's rebuild. He's a two-time 20-goal scorer in the NHL, and now he's being paid like a player who should score 30. He has the talent and the toughness to be a top-six forward for the next several years. Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings are banking on Bertuzzi taking the next step this season, and Bertuzzi is banking $9.5 million because of it.
