The Fan Hub

The Detroit Red Wings have found a potent line combination this season with Todd Bertuzzi playing on the right wing alongside center Pavel Datsyuk and left wing Johan Franzen, and it’s clearly one that they think can continue to produce for a while going forward; the Wings are currently working with Bertuzzi’s agent on a two-year contract extension that would keep the 37-year-old in Detroit through the 2013-14 season.

Retaining Bertuzzi makes sense on a number of levels. For starters, as previously stated, he has developed some impressive chemistry with their best player in Datsyuk, and also costs less than $2 million a year under his current deal. A new contract would likely be for more or less the same cap hit. But beyond that, Bertuzzi brings an element to this Detroit team that isn’t exactly in abundance: toughness. While no longer the bruising, unstoppable force that he was ten years ago in Vancouver, Bertuzzi brings size and physicality that is highly valued on this Detroit team, and would be difficult to find at such a low price on the open market.