Chris McCosky of The Detroit News has an interesting column up about the Detroit Red Wings and their attempt to re-sign Todd Bertuzzi. It seems that while it might have been thought Bertuzzi would be easy to sign -- perhaps for a bit of a paycut -- it turns out that it appears Bertuzzi is preparing to test the free agent market.
But you can’t blame Holland for holding the line, either. We’re assuming the line is $1 million, though we don’t know for sure. But if you do the math, Holland would be hard-pressed to pay Bertuzzi much more than that and still be able to sign all of the restricted free agents.
It doesn’t make sense to keep a 35-year-old Bertuzzi at the expense of Drew Miller, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader or Patrick Eaves.
If it is true that Bertuzzi is looking for at least $1.5 million next season, then chances are he won’t be in Detroit next season. Currently the Red Wings are about $4.5 million under the cap for next season with 17 players under contract; that’s six roster spots to lock up, and giving $1.5 million of that to Bertuzzi is likely a bit too much for Ken Holland to stomach.