The Chicago Blackhawks had one of their busiest offseasons in recent history, signing several veteran NHL players and indicating to its fans and those who cover the team that they weren’t going to settle for another season near the bottom of the standings in 2024-25.
Related: Meet the New Blackhawks: Tyler Bertuzzi
One of those signings was forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who signed a four-year, $22 million deal worth $5.5 million per season. He most recently played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 80 regular-season games in 2023-24.
Bertuzzi will turn 30 next February, and while there’s a case his most productive seasons are behind him, I want to look at different points in his career and see how the pesky winger could be a major factor in the Blackhawks’ quest to return to glory.
A Fan Favorite for the Red Wings
Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bertuzzi would be a force in junior hockey over the next few seasons, leading the Guelph Storm to an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) championship in 2014 and an appearance in the Memorial Cup Final. In 2014-15, Bertuzzi scored 43 goals and 55 assists for 98 points in 68 regular-season games, and after the Storm were eliminated in the second round, he joined the Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Related: How Realistic Is the Blackhawks’ Talk of a Playoff Push This Season?
During his first few professional seasons, the Sudbury, Ontario native was able to carve out a role as a reliable top-six winger who could create space for himself, never afraid to drop the gloves or defend his teammates. In 2016-17, he continued his winning ways, scoring 37 points in 48 games, then nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 19 playoff games to help the Griffins win the 2017 Calder Cup.
Over the next six seasons, Bertuzzi carved out a reputation as a productive winger with a little bit of snarl, unafraid to finish a check and go to the net to tip in a point shot or bury a rebound. As hockey continued evolving into a game of speed and finesse, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound forward was a throwback, an instant fan favorite for the Red Wings and a coach’s dream.
The height of his talent was on full display in 2021-22, when Bertuzzi finished with 30 goals and 32 assists for 62 points in just 68 regular-season games, a near point-per-game pace that saw him finish second on Detroit in scoring. The next season was the final year of the two-year, $9.5 million deal he signed ahead of 2021-22, and another highly productive campaign would ensure him a long-term deal.
However, injuries and lackluster results from the Red Wings put a damper on his season, forcing Detroit to trade their beloved winger to the Boston Bruins at the 2023 Trade Deadline. In 21 regular-season games with the Bruins, Bertuzzi recorded 16 points, and in their first-round matchup against the Florida Panthers, he was a monster, scoring five goals and five assists for 10 points in seven games.
Related: Blackhawks Must Balance Development & Experience to Succeed
After his dominant playoff performance, everyone and their mother thought Bertuzzi would sign the type of long-term deal that players dream of when they reach unrestricted free agency. But after no one offered him a contract on July 1, he wound up taking a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Maple Leafs.
One-Hit Wonder with the Maple Leafs
I watched nearly every one of Bertuzzi’s 80 regular-season games and seven Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Maple Leafs. Here are some quick thoughts on his one-and-only season with the blue and white:
Bertuzzi had about as poor a start as you could ask for, scoring just three goals in his first 15 games and six goals in his first 51. Every night, it felt like he couldn’t get anything past the opposing goalie, and he was losing every scramble and battle in front of the net. And good Lord, it felt like he took a lot of stupid penalties. A lot.
Sometimes when you’re struggling to score goals, you’re forcing things and making bad mistakes. Cheap hooks, always behind the play, it felt like I was watching a player totally different than the one I saw with the Red Wings and Bruins over the previous eight seasons.
Related: Blackhawks Prospects Report: Moore, Rinzel, Greene & More
But midway through February, something clicked for the former 30-goal scorer: over the next 29 games, Bertuzzi went on a tear, scoring 15 goals and 22 points, increasing his ice time by a few minutes and being relied on in important situations. He started getting shifts with Auston Matthews and burying every rebound the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner couldn’t score. There was a case to be made that Bertuzzi was one of the best players for Toronto towards the end of the season and going into the postseason.
After the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Bruins, Bertuzzi, again, became an unrestricted free agent and a top target for many teams around the league. Lo and behold, he would sign with the Blackhawks on a four-year deal.
What Can Bertuzzi Bring to Chicago?
It’s seldom that players turning 30 have their best offensive seasons in the second half of their careers, and logic would say that Bertuzzi is no different. Entering his ninth NHL campaign, he has only scored more than 50 points in a season once, but he’s consistently been a 40-ish-point player for most of his career.
Related: Blackhawks’ Bedard Effect Continues to Have an Impact
Now joining a Blackhawks lineup that’s desperate for offense, Bertuzzi could be the same productive winger he looked like during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. One element that helped drive his success in Detroit, and briefly, Boston, was the amount of power play time he got, especially on the first unit. In Toronto, he seldom had any chances to play with the man advantage, mostly thanks to Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares taking up most of the oxygen.
But with the Blackhawks, he could be penciled into the first unit before the first puck is dropped. Going one step further, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that Bertuzzi gets to play with another generational center in Connor Bedard, meaning even more potential point production for the veteran winger.
Whatever situation Bertuzzi finds himself in, there’s little doubt he will be given every opportunity to succeed. It’s up to him to see how much he can do.
