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Agreed. Eh, I dunno. While Bertuzzi is indisputably a very solid NHLer and indisputably one of our better players, he's not your typical Very Solid 26-Year-Old in Need of a New Contract case. Consider: > He has 2.5 NHL seasons under his belt. That's a small body of work, a small sample size. > His season point totals: 24 (48 GP), 47 (73 GP), 48 (71 GP). Not good enough to render the aforementioned sample size consideration moot. > He missed pretty much the whole 2020-21 season because of an injury. While he did put up an impressive 5 goals and 7 points through the 9 games he played, his even-strength zone starts split was OZ-60.3/DZ-39.7 and his shooting percentage (25%) was unsustainable. > He's coming off back surgery. Point being: Bertuzzi didn't necessarily have a particularly strong case for anything more than a show-me contract. Even if he did, I'm sure he understood that trying to twist Yzerman's arm by sitting out would not be a smart play, as 1) everyone knows an RFA will get zero concessions from Yzerman in a holdout war, and 2) if he wants that big next contract, whether it's with the Wings or a different organization, he really can't afford to be sitting out. In any case, Bertuzzi's days as a Wing probably are numbered. I dunno that it's as sure a thing as some people here are making it out to be. But, yeah, it's probably where we're headed.

And more then likely, Nielsen will be buried in Grand Rapids.

How refreshing is it that Gagner and Nielson are the only 30+ forwards on this team.

Holland doesnt work here anymore.

I don´t know anything about Todd, but Tyler´s contract is listed with $4.25m and $5.25m on capfriendly.

Good deal for lil'Bert in that he's been given a solid raise and at the end of the contract (barring any serious injuries) he's young enough at 28 to sign for an additional contract be it with Detroit or somewhere else - likely for more $$$. Good deal for Detroit in that we'll have him for a prime 2 seasons in which he'll be motivated to show that he's worth his new contract and if there are significant injuries in that span (crosses fingers hopefully not) Yzerman doesn't need to worry/LTIR. Like I said - it's a good deal for both sides.

He's just happy that the spotlight is now on 1 kid instead of an entire organization {cough}CHICAGO{cough}...

You know they have NEVER EVER DONE ANYTHING BAD. I thank the Lord that I didn't grow up with a cellphone that could take pictures. I am seriously wanting this kid to succeed in a LARGE LARGE way, marry a model and have 4 perfect children.

So now the prime minister and the comissioner has spolen on the subject. When do we get to hear from the pope? Has the UN sanctioned the Habs yet?

Ryan Reaves to the rangers for a third rounder. Guess Tom Wilson really got to them