There was no back and forth for Tyler Bertuzzi on whether or not to get vaccinated, no deliberation or moral dilemma -- not that there needs to be. His mind was made up from the start.
"It was pretty set in stone," Bertuzzi said Thursday.
As Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said Wednesday, "It's his decision."
And what went into Bertuzzi's decision to turn down a vaccine against COVID-19?
"Just personal choice," Bertuzzi said. "Freedom of choice and a life choice."
That decision stands to harm his team. The Canadian border is closed to unvaccinated travelers -- "for now and the foreseeable future," Yzerman said Wednesday -- meaning Bertuzzi, one of the Wings' top six forwards and their leading goal scorer last season before getting hurt, won't be able to play in any of Detroit's nine games this season in Canada.
Did that factor into his decision?
"A little bit, yeah," Bertuzzi said. "But at the end of the day, it was a life decision, personal choice and I made it."
To reach his decision -- or at least to confirm it -- Bertuzzi said he spoke with his family and his fiance's family. He said "it went fine" when he delivered the news to Yzerman and that "everything's good" with his teammates.
Asked about Bertuzzi's decision, captain Dylan Larkin said Thursday, "Tyler's looked into it and weighed all his options, and it was his choice to not get it."
"Tyler’s very popular in our room," Larkin added. "We’re going to miss him on the ice and in the locker room when he’s not able to play, but he has our support, I guess you could say. We’re just going to miss when him when he’s not there. Like an injury, like anything, you have to find ways to move on and be ready to play and we will treat this the same way."
Bertuzzi said, "Everything’s the same as normal."
Except for the fact he'll have to wear a mask around the rink and socially distance himself during team workouts, among other league-mandated protocols. And when the Wings travel to Montreal next month to play the Canadiens on the second Saturday of the season, Bertuzzi will have to watch from afar.
As he said, "personal decision."
That leaves 73 games for Bertuzzi to make his mark this season after signing a two-year, $9 million extension with Detroit this summer. He was limited to nine games last season after a back injury that later required surgery and he said he's "feeling really good" entering training camp, which started Thursday in Traverse City.
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"It was a very frustrating year," Bertuzzi said. "I thought I played a good nine games, and then the injury, and then trying to come back, almost being back, and then taking a step back again and ultimately having surgery, which was the right way to go. Obviously it was a tough year and it sucked, but we just gotta look forward," he said. "I’m looking forward to this season."
Bertuzzi said he feels 95 percent physically "and the other five would just be getting back into game shape. Just getting bumped and hit again and just getting the body back into moving the way the body moves in hockey. But other than that, my back’s feeling good. I’m feeling good."