What became a gain for the Bruins was a loss for the Red Wings.
Boston acquired winger Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit on Thursday after the latter also traded defenseman Filip Hronek to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. The two deals came after the Red Wings locked up captain Dylan Larkin to an eight-year contract extension.
The All-Star center reacted to the deals in a news conference Thursday where he was emotional over the departure of his close friend Bertuzzi. However, he expressed optimism of the franchise’s future with the multiple draft picks that were acquired in the two trades.
The Bruins kept an eye to the future by signing David Pastrnak to an eight-year contract extension, and the Bertuzzi deal, along with the trade for Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway, showed Boston is all in on a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Bertuzzi likely will fill in for Taylor Hall, who was placed on long-term injured reserve Thursday, and Nick Foligno also was placed on injured reserve.
“He’s very unique in his style,” Larkin told reporters, per Red Wings video. “I’ve said it many times, it doesn’t look pretty, but it’s highly effective. His stick’s flying everywhere, and the hair is flying everywhere. And he always comes up with a big toothless smile and always the first one to laugh when something happens.
“You saw it in the last game in Ottawa. He’s the first guy to jump in there and protect. It’s gonna be tough. I’ve always really loved playing with him, and I feel like I’m at my best when I’m playing with him. But he’s going to a team where they’re loading up for war, and there’s no one I’d rather have on my team than Tyler Bertuzzi in that situation.”
When asked if he will be rooting for Boston during the playoffs, Larkin added: “That’d be really hard.”
It’s high praise from the Red Wings captain and something that should get Bruins fans excited about the new addition. And it’s probably a fair assessment of what Don Sweeney and the front office have done in the past two weeks.
All that’s left now is to see how the pieces fit together on the ice.
