Red Wings from the vault: Right winger Todd Bertuzzi

In the latest edition of from the vault, look at former Detroit Red Wings right winger Todd Bertuzzi.

In recent news, the Detroit Red Wings regular season has been concluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the light of this announcement, take a walk down memory lane and look at the career of Todd Bertuzzi, who spent six seasons with the Red Wings organization.

Bertuzzi was drafted in the first round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders; it was not until the 2006 season that the winger would be in a Detroit uniform. He made his debut in 1995-96 with the Islanders, where he played in 76 games scoring 18 goals and adding 21 assists for 39 points.

Bertuzzi was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in 1998 in a deal for Trevor Linden. He would spend the next eight seasons in a Canucks uniform before being traded once more to the Florida Panthers. However, while with the Canucks, Bertuzzi would leave a mark on hockey.

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Most hockey fans will remember in the early 2000s when Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely for his incident with Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore. Bertuzzi would throw a sucker punch at Moore from behind him that incited a brawl and left him suspended.

After returning to the ice, he would play one more season with the Canucks before being traded to the Florida Panthers in the deal that sent goaltender Roberto Luongo to Vancouver. Bertuzzi played there until the 2007 trade deadline when he arrived in Detroit in a trade for Shawn Matthias.

He would finish out the 2006-07 season and then sign with the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames before returning to the Red Wings for five seasons. He would never take home any awards, besides being an all-star representative once, back in 2002-03 with the Canucks.

But looking at his time with the Red Wings, Bertuzzi played a total of 308 games, scoring 61 goals, adding 89 assists for 150 total points with his best season being 2010-11. In 2010-11 he would score 16 goals and add 29 assists for 45 points over 81 games played for the Red Wings.

The grinder forward was a physical player who was not afraid to throw the body around and was with the Red Wings in a time where they were competitive rather than nowadays.

The Red Wings had a much more matured veteran version of Bertuzzi, who kept his penalty minutes down while in Hockeytown. Bertuzzi played some of his Red Wings hockey alongside the  Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Draper, who is helping with the Yzer-plan that is in place.

Though Todd Bertuzzi was not a consistent all-star or award winner, fans will remember his time with the Detroit Red Wings and certainly remember the Steve Moore incident.