Quoting: DeadWingsv2
In 4 years, Larkin will only be 28. Poehling will be NHL ready next season, we could always sign Ryan to another 1 year deal and have a top 6 of Vrana-Larkin-Zadina, Fabbri-Poehling/Rasmussen/Veleno(whoever earns the job in camp)-Ryan... I don't see an issue with that next year, or how it would set us back that far. Poehling is a pretty good asset, so it's not like we'd be giving away Bertuzzi....
Raymond, who is the most likely replacement for Bertuzzi, will not make the team next year. Lucas has a good chance to make the team out of camp in '22. Lucas will need a further one or two years before he is capable of reproducing what Bertuzzi does now.
There's your best case - 3 or 4 years until we are back in the same spot as today. Trading Bertuzzi should only be done when there is a fully developed replacement ready for him, i,e. in three years time at the earliest or if the trade itself includes that replacement, like the Mantha trade did.
The Mantha trade is a very good measuring stock. Detroit got a player fully capable of replacing the production of Mantha + assets that will help in the future.
What's missing here is the replacement of Bertuzzi's production, that's what makes this into a disaster of a trade for Detroit.
With Bertuzzi on the roster Detroit could make the playoffs as soon as in two years time, three years at the worst. Without Bertuzzi on the roster it'll take 6+ years before Detroit will be god enough.
Accepting this trade would condemn Detroit to a perpetual rebuild, like Buffalo.