The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan took particular note of Steve Yzerman’s remarks regarding his contractual negotiations with restricted free agents Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi:
In the grand scheme of things, there’s plenty of time before next season begins — whenever that’ll be — and the Wings aren’t hamstrung by salary cap issues.
Bertuzzi, in fact, filed for salary arbitration, with hearings beginning Oct. 20, guaranteeing the Wings will have a contract with Bertuzzi at some point — through arbitration or not.
Yzerman expects to talk with Mantha’s representatives this week.
“I’ll have some discussions and expecting to talk to Anthony’s agent in the coming days,” Yzerman said. “We’ll talk so more and I’m confident we’ll get a deal done. I can’t tell you exactly when or for howlong but it’s both of our intentions to get a deal done.
“And likewise with Tyler Bertuzzi. He field for arbitration, so ultimately we know we’ll get a deal done. It might be for one year or it might be longer, We’ll continue to talk.”
Continued
