Boston Bruins ready for playoffs with Bertuzzi added
The Boston Bruins ended their strong performance by this year’s trade deadline with the acquisition of Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings. The addition came after injuries to Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno. Hall was placed on long term injury reserve (LTIR) with a lower body injury, but all signs point to him returning for the playoffs.
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Meanwhile, the Bruins have acquired an interesting forward in Bertuzzi, who scored 30 goals last season. He is in the final year of a two-year contract, with an average annual value of $4.75 million. He will most likely just be loaned and leave this summer, but in the meantime, he has the potential to be an incredibly powerful player for the team this final stretch and into the postseason.
Road to the NHL
Bertuzzi was born in Sudbury, Ontario on February 24, 1995. The left wing comes from an NHL family, as his uncle is Todd Bertuzzi, who had a long NHL career from the 1995-96 season to the 2013-14 season, ending his career. where Tyler started in Detroit.
Bertuzzi spent his junior hockey career in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Guelph Storm. In four seasons at Guelph, he played 201 games, scored 71 goals and scored 172 points. During the two seasons leading up to his draft year, he was mostly known for his physical playing style. He had 117 penalty minutes in 2011/12 and 68 in 2012/13. He was not afraid to fight and achieve great success.
During the 2013 NHL Draft, he was considered a very tough player. He was ranked 207th among North American skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Agency. Bertuzzi didn’t draw much attention leading up to his draft year, so many were taken aback when then-Red Wings general manager Ken Holland selected him in the second round, No. 58. He was the team’s third pick that season. a draft made behind Anthony Manta and Zach Nastasiuk.
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There were many questions about what Bertuzzi’s future in the NHL would look like if he made it there. In the post-draft season in the OHL, he missed 25 games due to head and neck injuries sustained in fights. At the 2014 Red Wings development camp, he got into an on-ice fight with Nick Jensen, causing Jensen to miss four months due to shoulder surgery. Given that much of his game was based on combat and exercise, with his injuries and fights coming out, it was unclear if he would become a powerhouse or not.
Luckily for Bertuzzi, in his final season in the OHL, he broke through and found his offensive game. He scored 43 goals and 98 points in 68 games and also served with the Storm as an alternate captain. With the team eliminated from the playoffs, he made his professional hockey debut by joining the Red Wings’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the playoffs. His attacking game continued to improve at the professional level. In 14 playoff games, he has 12 points and 7 goals.
Growing your game in Detroit
After spending the entire 2015/16 season in the AHL, Bertuzzi made his NHL debut in the 2016/17 season. He played in seven games that season and scored no points. He spent most of his time playing in the AHL for the Griffins, helping them win the Calder Cup that year. During the 2017 AHL playoffs, he scored 19 points in 19 games. The following season, he played in 16 NHL games. He scored his first NHL goal on January 14, 2018 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
He continued to show glimpses of potential, but did not become a regular in the NHL until the 2018-19 season. However, he began to earn a reputation as a striped player. He could break for a few games, and then disappear from the protocols for the next month. There was always a feeling that he was on the verge of finally putting everything together, but he just couldn’t get to that point. He was also hampered by injuries as he only played nine games in the 2020–21 season due to back problems.
Finally, in the 2021/22 season, he was able to pull himself together and have his best season yet. He had 30 goals and 62 points in 68 games and missed several games that season due to being unable to play in Canada because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19. He has only played 35 games in 2022-23 so far, 29 in Detroit and six in Boston, due to hand injuries. In December, he underwent surgery on his left arm.
What Bertuzzi Brings to the Bruins
As mentioned, Bertuzzi peaked in 2021/22 but has been hampered by injuries this season. In 35 games, he has only four goals and 17 points. Although it wasn’t his best season, he needs to be watched in the playoffs. Throughout his career, he had some of the best stretches of the game when the playoffs came. He scored 17 points in 18 games for the Storm in the OHL in 2013-14. This performance came after the regular season, when he was also hampered by injuries.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Boston Bruins (Photo by Steve Babino/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bertuzzi has not yet had the opportunity to play in the NHL playoffs in his entire career. But given his history, the Bruins should have high hopes for him when the calendar flips to April. In his first six games in Boston, he was already comfortable on the third line, with three assists in those games. When Hall and Foligno return, this team’s offense will truly be a force to be reckoned with.
In addition to the playoff scoring, Bertuzzi’s signing is another signal that the Bruins are ready to put some heat into the playoffs. He is a player who is not afraid to achieve great things. Along with the signings of Garnet Hathaway and Dmitri Orlov and the presence of Trent Frederick in the roster, this team is ready for the physical style of play that accompanies the NHL playoffs.
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Again, given the limited space for the Bruins and his injury history, I wouldn’t expect Bertuzzi to stay past this season. But he has the potential to be the perfect loan player – a guy who can make a difference in the postseason and give the team an extra push to get ahead of strong opponents.
