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Detroit Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi, NHL's only unvaccinated player, in COVID-19 protocol

Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi, the NHL's only unvaccinated player, has been placed in COVID-19 protocol.

The Wings announced the news Wednesday, about half an hour before their game against the Seattle Kraken.

General manager Steve Yzerman announced before the season that Bertuzzi had decided not to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The NHL said there were four such players when the season began, and that three had since commenced the vaccination process.

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Bertuzzi is the third Wings player to enter protocol this season. Dylan Larkin was pulled from the Nov. 16 game at Dallas when a test came back positive, but further testing revealed it to be a false positive. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser entered protocol before the Thanksgiving Eve game.

Detroit Red Wings left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (59) is pictured during warmups before the start of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 18, 2021.
Detroit Red Wings left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (59) is pictured during warmups before the start of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 18, 2021.

Bertuzzi is a top-line player and has nine goals and nine assists in 20 games. His unvaccinated status means he cannot travel to Canada under current border restrictions, so he missed two games at Montreal and one at Toronto. The Wings lost all three.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi in COVID-19 protocol