Bertuzzi To Make $2.25 Million In 2010-11

ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun has revealed that Todd Bertuzzi will make $2.25 million in the first year of his contract, and $1.625 million in the second year.

This is interesting because Tomas Holmstrom was just signed for $3.75 million, also over two seasons. Bertuzzi acquired a knack for screening goaltenders this season, a Holmstrom specialty, and Detroit must have saw a need to recognize that.

I’m not sure that Bertuzzi deserves to make more than Holmstrom, or even get a raise at all. While Bertuzzi put up great numbers over the first portion of his career, Holmstrom has been far more consistent and has put up much better numbers over the last half of his career. Holmstrom is older than Bertuzzi (Homer is 37, Bert is 35), but he put up bigger numbers last year than Bertuzzi, and played less games to do it. The fact that Detroit views Bertuzzi as more valuable than Holmstrom is saying alot.

Bertuzzi Cap Hit Is $1.937 Million For Both Years

CapGeek.com already has Todd Bertuzzi’s contract on the books, and his cap hit may not sit well with some Red Wings fans.

Bertuzzi’s hit will be $1.937 million over both years of the contract, which is a slight raise from his $1.5 million salary he made in 2009-10. The general consensus among fans seemed to be they wanted Bertuzzi back, but they wanted him to take a little less money in the process.

Bertuzzi Agrees To Two-Year, $3.875 Million Deal With Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings have taken care of their (third) biggest off-season priority, as Todd Bertuzzi has agreed to a two-year extension.

"It’s just a really good fit for me," the forward said. "My kids were so pumped when they found out we’re going back for two more years — now my son gets to stay in his hockey program, and they get to go back to the same schools."

The biggest issue for Bertuzzi was money and consistency. He wanted a two-year deal after jumping around the league the past few seasons, but also didn’t want to take much less than what he made last season in Detroit. It appears he got both.

"Playing with guys like Pavel Datsyuk and (Henrik Zetterberg) was great, but so was just being able to fit into the system," Bertuzzi said. "It’s just a great group of guys to be around."

Bertuzzi scored 18 goals and 44 points last season, playing all 82 regular season games and all 12 playoff games. The deal is for a little more money than I anticipated, but it really does show that the Wings badly wanted him back. There weren’t many better options on the free agent market for the price they got Bertuzzi.

Detroit will now have $54 million committed to 18 players for next season, about $4-5 under the expected cap.

Bertuzzi Deal More Difficult than Expected

Ansar Khan revealed things are not going so good on the Todd Bertuzzi front. Bertuzzi has been offered a two-year deal, but it looks like it’s for less money on average than he made last season, otherwise he probably would have signed by now.

“We have interest in him coming back. I think he’s interested in coming back,‘’ Red Wings General Manager Holland said. "But it’s a cap world. We only have so much to offer."

My guess is the deal is worth between $2.5-2.8 million over two seasons, which is less money on average than the $1.5 million he made last season. Detroit probably front-loaded the deal, offering him the same $1.5 million salary for next season, then dropping it down the next year like they did with the Holmstrom contract.

Detroit has between $5-6 million in cap space to spend, and needs to leave enough room for restricted free agents Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves and Drew Miller, as well as a veteran defenseman, possibly Andreas Lilja. If Bertuzzi can’t be signed by July 1, the Wings will have to dip into free agency to try and find a replacement.

Red Wings Make Their Offer To Todd Bertuzzi

The Free Press' Helene St. James is reporting that the Red Wings have offered a two-year deal to Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi will become an unrestricted free agent later this offseason if he doesn't work out a new deal with the Red Wings first, which is what the team's front office is trying to do right now.

The fact that Bertuzzi was offered a two-year deal is somewhat interesting. It may indicate that the Wings want to lessen his cap hit since space is so limited as it is. It also indicates that the Wings want to lock Bertuzzi up for a couple seasons as opposed to just one, showing their confidence in him after a solid 2009-10 season.

Red Wings To Sign Todd Bertuzzi Next?

With Nicklas Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom already re-signed and set to return to the Red Wings for the 2010-11 season, GM Ken Holland's focus appears to be turning to Todd Bertuzzi, who is set to become a free agent.

Holland wants to bring back Bertuzzi, who stepped up in a big way when the Red Wings were suffering through injuries for a big chunk of this past season. If he is brought back or not will largely depend on what Bertuzzi wants to do contract-wise. Much like his last stint with the Wings, Bertuzzi could become a free agent and pursue a deal on the open market that is bigger than what he would get with Detroit. While Bertuzzi did play well last season, the Wings simply don't have enough cap space to give him too much money, not that they'd want to break the bank for him anyways.

Holland would like to re-sign forward Todd Bertuzzi. But Bertuzzi must decide whether to return to Detroit -- possibly at the same $1.5 million salary he earned last season or less -- or seek a better deal on the open market.

"I've had a couple of conversations with (Bertuzzi's agent) Pat Morris,'' Holland said. "I don't know where it's going to go.''

In addition to Bertuzzi, Ken Holland has to decide what to do with veterans Kirk Maltby and Andreas Lilja. All of the younger restricted free agents are expected back, but with cap space limited, it's certainly possible that players like Maltby or Lilja won't be offered a deal.