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Posts Tagged Todd Bertuzzi

Todd Bertuzzi’s 360 Spin Goal

Jan 17

Posted by Eddie in Media | No Comments

Last night in the Detroit-Buffalo game the Red Wings set a franchise record with 15 consecutive wins at home. In addition, Pavel Datsyuk passed the 700-point plateau with three assists in the game. All-Star goalie Jimmy Howard recorded his fifth shutout of the season as the Red Wings routed the Sabres 5-0.

Todd Bertuzzi has been on a tear after starting the season off slow. In the first 14 games of the season he had only three points. But he’s turned it on as of late with 20 points in his last 24 games. In tonight’s game he had a goal and two assists and one of the best goals you will see this season as he slid a backhand spin-o-rama past Ryan Miller for the fourth goal of the game. He was pulled seconds later when Darren Helm scored 13 seconds after Bertuzzi. Miller didn’t have a good stretch of hockey between the first and second periods as he allowed four goals in a goal of 6:21 between the first and second periods.

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Fantasy Friday

Dec 16

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

The Hotlist:

Wayne Simmonds (forward): Three goals and one assist over the last seven days. With injuries to Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn, Simmonds will see more ice time and be counted on for increased production. Owned in a meager 17 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues.

Bryan Little (forward): Three goals over the last seven days on 12 shots on goal. Little has 20 points in 31 games for the Jets, including four goals in his past five games.

Todd Bertuzzi (forward): Bertuzzi has one goal and three assists in the past seven days. More importantly, he plays on the top line with the red-hot Pavel Datsyuk. He has been a consistent 40-point scorer with Detroit, but he may pay short-term dividends if you grab him while he’s hot.

Matt Carle (defense): One goal, five assists and a plus-four over the last seven days. It was just announced that Chris Pronger will be out for the season thanks to concussion symptoms. Expect Carle to help fill the void on the blue line.

Michael Del Zotto (defense): Owned in only 40 percent of Yahoo fantasy leagues, Del Zotto posted four points over the past seven days and was plus-five while rifling off 11 shots and blocking 10. Del Zotto has nine points total over the last 10 games.

Between the Pipes:

It appears as if Luongo has reclaimed the number one spot in Vancouver, but Cory Schneider remains a viable threat for wins, goals against and save percentage when he plays. The Canucks are winners of seven of their last 10 games.

However, another goalie controversy appears to be brewing in Chicago. Ray Emery is winner of three straight games and will get his fourth consecutive start against the Ducks tonight. Remember, this guy backstopped Ottawa to the Stanley Cup Finals several years ago and won seven games in 10 starts for Anaheim last season. Keep an eye on this developing situation.

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Wings youth movement negates age argument

Oct 5

Posted by Chris in Soap Box | No Comments

The Detroit News offered up some insight today into what sports writers from around the league think about the Detroit Red Wings and their chances coming into the new season. The claims were mostly positive with many wondering how the Wings continue to thrive and show such incredible consistency. The retractors, however, continued to use the same line that the Wings have been dealing with for years.

They are too old.

Most of the writers agreed that the Wings are definitely a playoff contender, although there were mixed feelings whether the Wings or the Blackhawks would lead the Central division this year. But for three out of nine writers, age was a significant concern while advanced age was mentioned by six of the nine writers.

Yes, the Wings are getting older. But consider the following:

  • Sure, Nicklas Lidstrom is 41 years old, which is almost ancient in hockey years, but he is also coming off of a bounce-back, Norris Trophy-winning season and shows no signs of slowing down. Even in a off-year Lidstrom is still better than a vast majority of NHL defenseman. Injuries have never been much of a concern thanks to a smart style of play that relies on good positioning and solid stick work. Age certainly isn’t a concern for the mighty Nick Lidstrom.
  • At 36-years-old, Todd Bertuzzi certainly isn’t the offensive threat he once was with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has been incredibly consistent the last several years – especially with the Wings. Bertuzzi chipped in 45 points last season, one better than his 44 the season before. Sure, the Wings would love a 20-goal, 50-point season from Bertuzzi, but he knows his role as a secondary scorer and he does it well. Besides, do moves like this indicate that Bertuzzi shows any signs of slowing down?
  • Ty Conklin was brought on in the off-season to back up Jimmy Howard when Chris Osgood decided to retire. After a sour season last year with St. Louis, Conklin, 35, re-signed with the Red Wings. A better defense in front of Conklin and more offensive support should help bring his numbers back down this year.

The only other player on the Wings’ roster this season over the age of 35 is Tomas Holmstrom. While Holmstrom has shown signs of slowing down in recent years, probably mostly thanks to the abuse he takes in front of the net on a nightly basis, it appears as if Holmstrom will be used a bit more sparingly this season with other players such as Jiri Hudler and Patrick Eaves rotating in on the top line alongside Pavel Datsyuk.

Also consider the fact that much of the Wings’ “age” retired this offseason with Kris Draper (40) and Chris Osgood (38) hanging up the skates. Defenseman Brian Rafalski (38) also retired and was replaced on the blue line by 27-year-old defenseman Ian White.

The truth is that the Wings will actually look much younger this season with players like Eaves, Drew Miller, Darren Helm (pictured), Justin Abdelkader, Cory Emmerton and Jan Mursak all slotted to play. None of those players are older than 28.

In an ironic twist, the sports writer from Nashville at least went outside the box and cited that the Wings failed to make any significant offseason improvements. Kettle. Black. Done.

In fact, outside of the additions of Commodore, White and Conklin, the Wings didn’t make any significant additions – not because they didn’t want to, but because the talent wasn’t available this summer. Remember that the Wings are roughly $5 million under the salary cap. That gives them more than enough space to address any legitimate concerns at the trade deadline and make them serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

This season will be the first in a long time to feature a significant youth movement on the Red Wings’ roster with many of the younger players expected to take on more significant roles. Even 30-year-old Niklas Kronwall is expected to take over more responsibility from the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom. And Valtteri Filppula could be in line for a breakout season (finally) after a big preseason with six points in four games. With younger players taking on more responsibilities and veterans still performing at high levels, it’s difficult to take seriously the argument that the Wings are too old to win.

 

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

Sep 29

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Rafalski (retirement), Kris Draper (retired), Chris Osgood (retired), Ruslan Salei

Key Offseason Additions: Ian White, Mike Commodore

Last Season Ranking: 3rd in the West

Offense: Top line scoring isn’t a problem in Detroit with guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the lineup. If both players stay healthy, they are both capable of producing at a point-per-game pace. Don’t worry about them. Instead, this is the year for guys like Filppula and Hudler to prove their worth.

Detroit fans have been waiting for a breakout season from Valtteri Filppula. He has the skill, he has the hockey sense, now he just needs to put it together into one cohesive season. At the very least, Filppula should be a 20-goal, 50 point player with the Wings. He has yet to top 40 points in a single season. This could be his year if he centers the second line with Henrik Zetterberg on the wing. Filppula so far has impressed in the preseason and needs to carry that confidence into the regular season.

Hudler had a disappointing season last year after returning from the KHL. Fans called for Hudler to be traded, and Hudler responded with intense offseason workouts with UFC trainers. The result? Well, Hudler is in a contract year and the Wings expect him to be back into the 20 goal, 50 point range again. Coach Mike Babcock has alternated Hudler on Datsyuk’s wing at times this preseason, which could spark his offensive production if it carries over into the regular season. If Hudler doesn’t produce, however, he will likely be on the trading block come March.

The Wings would love to see more consistency from Johan Franzen, who scored five goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators last season and then went scoreless for more than 20 games. But Franzen, along with Dan Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi, provide the Wings with solid depth scoring. Expect the Wings to be among the league leaders in goals scored per game again this season.

Defense: Hockeytown breathed a collective sigh of relief when Nick Lidstrom announced his return, especially after Brian Rafalski blindsided Wings fans by announcing his retirement. But this season may be the year of a different Nik as Niklas Kronwall looks to shoulder more responsibility.

Kronwall will get heavy minutes this season and will fill roles usually occupied by Lidstrom on the penalty kill. Coach Mike Babcock wants to use Lidstrom sparingly, leaving room for Kronwall to blossom into a top defender.

Newcomer Ian White has bounced around the league the past few years, but he may finally find a home with the Wings where he will be counted on to help replace some of the offense the team lost when Rafalski retired. White, a good puck-moving defenseman, will see power play time and will likely be paired with Lidstrom this year, putting the chances of having a career season offensively firmly within reach.

Mike Commodore will help add some toughness and grit to the blue line, something the Wings lacked previosuly, while Jakub Kindl will likely challenge Commodore for the 6th spot on the blue line. Kindl has shown promise in limited playing time in the past and needs to prove his merits as an NHL defenseman.

Goaltending: Playing with the Wings, a goalie doesn’t have to steal many games. But Jimmy Howard was a big reason why the Wings were able to force a Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks in the spring. Coming into his third full NHL season, Howard needs to show more of that poise consistently throughout the season. This isn’t a make-or-break year for Howard, but he’s shown how good he can be and now he needs to realize that potential all season long. Expect Howard to win 30+ games this season.

Behind Howard will be a familiar face in Ty Conklin, a former Wing returning to the squad after a stint with St. Louis. If nothing else, Conklin is solid and capable when he’s called upon and should be a great addition to the roster.

Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Wings are contenders, and with $5 million in cap space they could be big trade-deadline buyers as well. The team looks solid now and they could look even better when the playoffs start in April.

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Todd Bertuzzi Trick Shot

May 7

Posted by Matt in Media | No Comments

Despite not having a great post-season thus far, up until last night I suppose, Todd Bertuzzi showed he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. This little gem came during a practice in San Jose prior to game two. Sure we’ve seen some guys make this trick shot before, but now we can add Todd Bertuzzi to the list.

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Bertuzzi playing hard ball with Wings; Cheechoo to be bought out?

Jun 10

Posted by Chris in Rumors | No Comments

It appears as if unrestricted free agent Todd Bertuzzi may opt to test the open market to see if any more lucrative offers come along than the two-year deal that the Red Wings offered that is most likely worth around the $1.5 million per season that Bertuzzi made this past year.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland appeared on the “NHL Live” radio program where he touched upon several topics including his ongoing negotiations with Bertuzzi and his agent Pat Morris.

“We have interest in him coming back,” Holland said of Bertuzzi. “I think he’s interested in coming back. But it’s a cap world. We only have so much to offer.”

Prior to this past season, Bertuzzi had spent time in a Wings uniform once before after he was acquired from Florida at the trade deadline in 2007. When the season ended, indications were that Bertuzzi was interested in staying and that the Wings were interested in keeping him. However, Bertuzzi left the organization during the free agency period to sign a two-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $8 million. Bertuzzi was later placed on waivers by the Ducks.

“We’ll continue to talk to him,” Holland said. “We’d like to have him back, but obviously, there’s gotta be a fit financially for the player and for us. Talks are ongoing. We’ll see where they go.”

In other news, reports are also circulating that the Ottawa Senators are looking to buy out the contract of forward Jonathan Cheechoo when the NHL buyout period begins next week. During that time, each team has a two week window in which they can buy out players for 2/3 of the value of their current salary to be paid over two-times the length of the agreed deal. Cheechoo is signed for $3.5 million for next season which would give the Senators a cap hit of $1,165,500 cap hit for the next 2 seasons.

Cheechoo came to Ottawa last summer as a part of the Dany Heatley trade that sent Heatley to San Jose in exchange for Cheechoo, forward Milan Michalek and a fifth round draft pick in the upcoming draft. The 29-year-old finished the season with five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 61 games with the Senators. Cheechoo also spent time with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, where he totalled another 14 points in 25 games.

Cheechoo’s best performance came in 2005-2006 when he tallied 56 goals and 93 points in 82 games for the San Jose Sharks alongside center Joe Thornton. Since that season, Cheechoo’s numbers have steadily declined.

No word yet on where Cheechoo could end up, although several teams could look to sign Cheechoo later this summer to add depth to their lineup for a low cost. One interesting scenario would be if the Pittsburgh Penguins took a chance and signed Cheechoo for cheap this summer. Pittsburgh has taken chances on wingers in the past who fell to the late stages of free agency, such as Miroslav Satan, to experiment and see if they thrive alongside Sidney Crosby, who the Penguins are constantly trying to match with a suitable winger. Cheechoo had his best season alongside center Joe Thornton in San Jose and could possibly rejuvenate his career alongside Sidney Crosby.

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Datsyuk and Bertuzzi Make Niemi Look Foolish, Wings Lose Shootout

Jan 17

Posted by Matt in Media, News | 6 Comments

The Detroit Red Wings have now lost consecutive games in shootouts, yesterday to the Stars and today against the Chicago Blackhawks. While yesterday’s shootout was filled with controversy over Steve Ott’s phantom goal, today featured a couple highlight reel goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi.

Datsyuk pulled a move out from the book of Linus Omark, and certainly did not disappoint. He lobbed up a real soft shot that completely fooled Antti Niemi. Later, Todd Bertuzzi pulls off some magic as he went for the spin-o-rama and buried it beautifully. While a couple of the Red Wings stars came up big on national tv for the shootout, they were not fortunate enough to win. The point will certainly help as Detroit hunts for a playoff spot, but they narrowly missed two more points this weekend and they could have desperately used each one.

Here’s a video of both goals from today in case you missed them:

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