Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi undergoes surgery, expected to miss six weeks

The Red Wings placed Bertuzzi on the injured reserve on Thursday. The previous night, Bertuzzi left Detroit’s game against the Buffalo Sabres after he was hit in the hand by a point shot taken by teammate Ben Chiarot.

Detroit called up veteran Austin Czarnik in a corresponding move on Thursday. Czarnik, 29, has 14 points through 12 games with the Grand Rapid Griffins this season. He’s scored 46 points over 146 NHL games between the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Seattle Kraken, and Red Wings in his career.

This is the second time that Bertuzzi has gone on the Injured Reserve this season. He missed one month of play after breaking his hand when he was hit by a puck in Detroit’s second game of the season.

In seven games following his return from that injury, Bertuzzi scored just one goal and three points. He has four points in nine games all told in 2022-23.

Losing Bertuzzi for another extended period of time is a difficult blow for the Red Wings, who are off to an 11-6-5 start this season. Bertuzzi finished second on the team in scoring in 2021-22, with 30 goals and 62 points, and was expected to again be a key part of the Red Wings’ offense.

It’s also frustrating for Bertuzzi himself, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career at the end of the season. Bertuzzi is currently in the second season of a two-year, $9.5 million contract signed back in July of 2021.