Per MLive’s Ansar Khan:
Tyler Bertuzzi will more than double his salary from last season. How much remains to be seen.
The sides have submitted their briefs prior to Sunday’s arbitration hearing. Bertuzzi is asking for $4.25 million and the team countered with $3.15 million, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Bertuzzi, 25, earned $1.4 million last season, when he led the Red Wings with 21 goals, the second year in a row he’s reached that total, and tallied 48 points, one more than his career high from the previous season.
Update: Here’s more from the Free Press’s Helene St. James:
It’s common practice for a player to aim high and a team to aim low. The sides can continue to negotiate with one another even after an arbitration hearing has started.
In 2018, then-RFA Andreas Athanasiou filed for arbitration, but the sides reached an agreement before needing an arbitrator.
If an arbitrator decides, it will be for a one-year deal, leaving Bertuzzi an RFA again next summer.
Bertuzzi, 25, certainly has earned a raise on the $2.8 million deal he’s coming off. He led the Wings last season with 21 goals, the second consecutive season he’s hit that mark. He also reached a career-high 48 points.
