The return of right wing Todd Bertuzzi to the Panthers' lineup is a matter of days, not weeks.

Bertuzzi this week accompanied the club on a road trip for the first time since having back surgery Nov. 2. He took part in full practices Monday in Denver and Wednesday in St. Paul.

"He needed to go through that," coach Jacques Martin said after Thursday's skate. "With him it's a matter of getting his timing back, of getting his conditioning up to game level, and you only get that by practicing with the team."

Martin said he had targeted Feb. 17, a Saturday home game against Tampa Bay, for Bertuzzi's return, but didn't dismiss the chances of it happening sooner.

Bertuzzi said last weekend that he might just pop back into the lineup one night, but Martin said he'll have the final say after checking with trainer Curtis Bell and team orthopedist Al DeSimone.

Martin declined to discuss a report on Canada's TSN Web site that said Detroit is interested in acquiring Bertuzzi before the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

Bertuzzi, in his first year with the Panthers but the final year of his contract, could be made available if Martin, who is also the club's general manager, doesn't feel he'll be able to sign him by July 1.

"You're going to get a lot of reports coming from different cities," Martin said. "(The media are) really good at that. (They) do a lot of diligent work. I can't comment on that."

Red Wings GM Ken Holland said Thursday there was no truth to the report.