Report: Red Wings fielding calls on Tyler Bertuzzi

Gritty forward Tyler Bertuzzi has certainly proven himself to be one of the most important members of the Detroit Red Wings, breaking the 30 goal plateau last season as well as demonstrating an ability to play a two-way game. There's also the fact that he does the dirty work for the team in the trenches as well as standing up for himself and his teammates. 

The bad news for Bertuzzi and the Red Wings is that this season has been anything but ideal for him. Fans will notice that he's tallied only two goals on the year while having appeared in only 19 games. He's broken not one but both of his hands in separate shot blocking incidents and missed nearly three months worth of time on the ice.

And there's also the matter that he's a pending unrestricted free agent, along with fellow forward Dylan Larkin. According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has been taking calls on Bertuzzi's availability at the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline:

"The Red Wings are taking calls on Tyler Bertuzzi and we shouldn't be surprised by that based on his contract status," Dreger said on Insider Trading. "He's 27 years of age. He's having a tough year with [the] Red Wings. Now that's coming off scoring 30 (goals) last year. So the interest is there, but it's no different than any of the other pending unrestricted free agents.

"You've got [Red Wings general manager] Steve Yzerman also trying to weigh his options and make educated comparisons. So he's also having conversations with Todd Reynolds, the agent for Tyler Bertuzzi, just to see which is better moving forward here for the Red Wings: the return that you might get on an intriguing forward in Tyler Bertuzzi versus signing him to an extension. To be determined with Bertuzzi."

The NHL Trade Deadline is March 3. Will Bertuzzi be a member of the team by the end of that day?