The ideal scenario had Tyler Bertuzzi making the Red Wings out of training camp this past season but things did not work according to plan.
Bertuzzi had a wrist injury that set him back several weeks so he ended up with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.
Because of a minor injury to David Booth, Bertuzzi made his Detroit season debut on Dec. 9 at home against the St. Louis Blues but returned to the Griffins a few days later.
When Luke Glendening was injured at Philadelphia Dec. 20, Bertuzzi returned to the Wings for good and eventually found a spot on the Wings' top line with captain Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist.
1 -- You always remember your first goal and Bertuzzi will no doubt have fond memories of his first one, which came on Jan. 14 at Chicago in a 4-0 victory. Bertuzzi's goal was the fourth of the game for the Red Wings. As happy as Bertuzzi was, Martin Frk, who got the second assist on Bertuzzi's goal, was just as delighted for his good friend. Bertuzzi had his first NHL point on Dec. 27 at New Jersey, getting the primary assist on Justin Abdelkader's second-period goal.
5 -- It might have taken Bertuzzi 17 games to get his first goal but he certainly finished strong. Bertuzzi had five goals in the final eight games of the season. Bertuzzi scored March 24 at Toronto, had a goal and an assist on March 26 at Montreal, tallied twice on April 3 at Columbus and had a goal at home against Montreal on April 5.
2 -- Bertuzzi had his first career two-goal game at Columbus April 3. He opened the scoring at 3:50 of the first period, assisted by Zetterberg and Nyquist. He added his second at 18:37 of the first period, a power-play goal assisted by Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall. The Wings lost in overtime, 5-4, but Bertuzzi finished plus-1 in 17:46.
17 -- Bertuzzi finished the season with 17 assists, tied with Andreas Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen for ninth on the team. However, he needed just 48 games to do so compared to 71 for Athanasiou and 79 for Nielsen.
39 -- With 39 penalty minutes, Bertuzzi finished tied for sixth on the team with Darren Helm. Abdelkader was first with 78, Luke Witkowski was second with 68, Dylan Larkin was third with 61, Anthony Mantha was fourth with 52 and Jonathan Ericsson was fifth with 47. 48 - After logging seven games during the 2016-17 season due to injuries, Bertuzzi played in 48 games in 2017-18.
14 -- Before being called up, Bertuzzi had 14 points -- seven goals and seven assists -- in 16 games with the Griffins.
