bret to detriot for shawn mattias, and some conditonal picks

source: TSN

Fresh starts for Bertuzzi, Calder
John McGourty | NHL.com Staff
It's not hard to imagine a fantasy conversation in the near future between new Detroit Red Wings forwards Todd Bertuzzi and Kyle Calder.

Calder: "Wow, Todd. I had the worst nightmare. I dreamed I got traded to Philadelphia and all my skills disappeared. I couldn't score on an empty net, my vaunted ability to wrest pucks away from the opponent disappeared and the chemistry I had with Jeff Carter in the World Championships last spring was rarely evident."

Bertuzzi: "Same here, Kyle, bad nightmares. I dreamed I got traded to Florida, missed the whole season after back surgery and the guy I got traded for has made my old team as good or better than when I was there."

The nightmares may be ending for Bertuzzi and Calder, but they may just be beginning for the Red Wings' Western Conference opponents.

Detroit GM Ken Holland swung a three-team deal late Monday with Philadelphia and the Chicago Blackhawks to acquire Calder, 28, a six-year pro who has scored 94 goals and added 137 assists in 418 NHL games. He played his first five NHL seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded last summer for center Michal Handzus.

The Calder trade cost the Red Wings the services of right wing Jason Williams, 26, a fifth-year pro who had 11 goals and 15 assists in 58 games.

Bertuzzi was acquired Tuesday from the Florida Panthers for junior center Shawn Matthias, a conditional draft pick – either a first-, second- or third-round selection – in 2007, and a conditional second-round draft pick in 2008.

Bertuzzi was part of a blockbuster trade last summer when Florida sent goaltender Roberto Luongo, defenseman Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Bertuzzi, goalie Alex Auld and defenseman Bryan Allen. Bertuzzi played only seven games for Florida before undergoing disc surgery. He is nearing his return to hockey.

"I'm excited to come to Detroit," Bertuzzi said in a Tuesday conference call with Holland. "There's a great hockey tradition here and it's a place I always wanted to come out and play. I'm looking forward to putting on that jersey and playing. I'm feeling better and my progress has been great. I'll continue to work on it and get back on the ice as soon as I can."

Neither Holland nor Bertuzzi would commit to a return date, but both men indicated they felt Bertuzzi would be ready before the end of March.

"We know Todd well from all his years in Vancouver and who can forget the 2002 series between our teams and his battles with Chris Chelios?" Holland said. "Todd gives us size and strength, two areas we thought we had to address. He'll be a top-six forward, but I'm not sure what (coach) Mike Babcock's lines will be. I know he gives us a lot more options that we had a few days ago.

"We also added Kyle Calder, a gritty guy I had at the World Championship last spring. We know him from Chicago and he's added grit, size and depth. We are a much better team today than 48 hours ago."

"Me and Chelly aren't going to room together," Bertuzzi cracked but added, "We're all hockey players and we all have a common bond of wanting to win the Stanley Cup. This team is outstanding, from the goaltending to Nick Lidstrom to the great cast of forwards. I hope to come in and be part of the puzzle and find good chemistry with some of the guys."

"Todd is a unique player," Holland said of his 6-foot-3, 242-pound acquisition who has 224 goals and added 312 assists in 717 NHL games. "He has size and skill, and scoring and playmaking ability.

"We're well aware of his injury. This morning, as we worked on the trade, Randy Sexton, the Florida assistant GM, and I got our doctors together to discuss his injury. We have a comfort level that Todd is a few weeks away. By the end of March, he should be in our lineup and contributing to our team. We're very excited to add Todd and looking forward eventually to getting him in a Red Wings uniform."

Bertuzzi said that he accompanied the Panthers on a recent road trip and found that it was too soon to travel. He checked Detroit's schedule and was pleased that the Red Wings have 12 home games remaining and only seven games on the road.

"I'm doing a lot on the ice to get my back stronger," Bertuzzi said. "I've been skating for two weeks."

Bertuzzi chuckled when asked if he thought the Red Wings fans would boo him as they have in the past.

"It's going to be different from playing so many years with Vancouver," he said. "The environment is second to none and I'm looking forward to being part of the history there.

"Who wouldn't want to come there, with the great history, Steve Yzerman and the rest of the cast. I had many good times playing against Detroit. I've always enjoyed coming into Joe Louis Arena. I hope I'm well received."

Bertuzzi said he hopes to get in as many regular-season games as possible before the playoffs, which he called "a whole new level." He said he will continue to play "the only way I know how. I don't play cautious and won't play that way. I'm coming to Detroit for a reason: To help them out in the playoffs and I hope to be 100 percent."

Bertuzzi has spent a good deal of his career banging Red Wings into the boards and flat on their backs. He was asked if he was excited to be on the receiving end of passes from masters like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Chelios, Mathieu Schneider and Brett Lebda.

"That's going to be kind of a throwback to me and Markus (Naslund) and Brendan (Morrison)," Bertuzzi said, referring to his old Vancouver linemates. "I'm going to be in position to play with one, two or three of those guys you just mentioned. I'm looking forward to it.

"I love (Detroit's) high-tempo style of play," he continued. "I'm more suited to that. Detroit's got guys on the back end who can make those outlet and breakaway passes. It's going to be exciting taking those passes from Nick and Matty and Chris."

O_o I'm very pleased to hear that
everyone's been [censored]ing at him, but he'll prove his value with the wings