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Opportunity knocks for Bertuzzi |
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One man’s departure is another man’s chance. In the case of the Detroit Red Wings, Monday’s trade of left-winger Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights has opportunity knocking at the door of Tyler Bertuzzi.
Bertuzzi will slide into Tatar’s spot on the forward line with Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou. He’ll continue to work on the power play, and can expect a significant uptick in his minutes.
Called up Dec. 23 from AHL Grand Rapids, Bertuzzi quickly established he could be a presence at the NHL level, collecting seven points in 10 games, working his way up to a spot alongside Henrik Zetterberg on Detroit’s top forward line and skating over 18 minutes a game.
Lately, though, the well had run dry. He’s minus-11 since Jan. 23 and has gone six games without a point, seeing his ice time dwindle to between 6-10 minutes per game.
That situation is about to change.
“Tyler Bertuzzi will increase his minutes by a lot,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told Mlive.com. “When Tyler first came up and there was injuries, I thought he played very very well. I thought he slipped a little bit, opened the door for some guys to take his spot and then didn’t get much of an opportunity.
“I think all Tyler needs is opportunity and he’s going to get that. He’s going to get tons of opportunity. So he’d be the one whose minutes are going to increase the most.”
He’s Still Here
The Wings held an optional practice Tuesday, and one of those who was around the rink was a guy who wasn’t supposed to be here today - defenseman Mike Green.
Still recuperating from an upper-body injury, Green isn’t likely to suit up Wednesday as the Wings hit the road to face the St. Louis Blues.
“I don’t expect him tomorrow,” Blashill said “I would think weekend is a more likely possibility. He just has to get to a point where he feels right.”
Green admitted he was a bit surprised to still being a wearer of the winged wheel the day after the NHL trade deadline.
“My mind frame was always here in Detroit,” Green said. “Obviously, with the speculation and the talk and the situation I was in, anything could have happened, but I’m still happy to be here and move forward.”
Whether moving forward might include a new contract with the Wings - Green becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 - he wasn’t about to make any sort of commitment along those lines.
“I don’t know,” Green said. “Obviously, we’ll see how things kind of take place over the next six months. But right now I’m just focused on getting back on the ice and in games and playing hockey.”
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