The Boston Bruins are staying busy ahead of the NHL trade deadline, acquiring forward Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in exchange for a 2024 first-round draft choice and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
The first-round choice is top-10 protected. Detroit will also retain 50% of Bertuzzi’s $4.75 million cap hit in the deal.
To fit Bertuzzi into the mix, Boston moved Taylor Hall to long-term injured reserve and placed Nick Foligno on injured reserve. Hall had suffered a recent lower-body injury and Foligno was injured Tuesday against the Calgary Flames, highlighting the Bruins’ need to add to their forward depth.
The Bruins received $6 million in long-term injured reserve cap relief with the Hall move, according to CapFriendly, using $2.375 million of it on the Bertuzzi trade.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters there was no timeline for Hall or Foligno to return and that surgery had not been ruled out for either player. Sweeney also said he did not see the Bruins making additional moves before the trade deadline at 3 p.m. Friday.
The Bruins on Thursday also signed forward David Pastrnak to an eight-year contract extension that will pay him $90 million — the sixth-largest deal in NHL history.
Bertuzzi has four goals and 14 points in 29 games for the Red Wings this season and has been one of the club’s top offensive pieces in recent seasons. The 28-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and was rumored to be on the trade block, until Detroit began improving on the ice in February.
The Bruins were targeting depth forwards before acquiring Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals last month. Bertuzzi brings scoring touch, physicality and versatility to a Boston team that has been atop the NHL standings all season and is a front-runner to chase a Stanley Cup championship.
Talks around Bertuzzi had cooled, but Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman picked things up again, and Boston was an obvious trade partner. Sweeney had draft capital to spare, and the Red Wings are continuing to retool their roster through the draft and prospect development in hopes of becoming a perennial postseason contender again.
