Bertuzzi hasn't come into the season and played how the Blackhawks need him to.
Bertuzzi hasn't come into the season and played how the Blackhawks need him to.
One of the Chicago Blackhawks' big summer additions was Tyler Bertuzzi. Considering his start to the season, he hasn't been as advertised and that needs to change quickly.
The Blackhawks have Bertuzzi under contract for three more years at $5.5 million AAV, but the 29-year-old has just three goals and no assists through 11 games. He has barely contributed offensively despite playing in the top-6 the entire time and being one of the five players on the top power-play unit.
If he can't start producing more, there are at least two players that can move onto that top unit and have a shot to do so - Taylor Hall and Philipp Kurashev.
Bertuzzi has had a solid career thus far, but his start with Chicago has not been up to par with that. His career high in goals (30) and points (62) came in just 68 games in 2021-22 with the Detroit Red Wings, but he hasn't come close since.
Bertuzzi is used to playing with top talent as he was on the Toronto Maple Leafs before signing with the Blackhawks. In Toronto, he played with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, so when Bertuzzi started the season on a line with Connor Bedard, the thinking was that it would be an easy transition.
Bertuzzi is known to go cold for periods of time and that got him demoted down the lineup last season. He is capable of scoring goals as a 30-goal scorer in the NHL is no joke. He put 21 pucks in the back of the net last season despite just eight in 50 games the season prior.
Three goals is decent for Bertuzzi to have already contributed, but the lack of points overall is concerning. Either he isn't being involved in the play enough or he just isn't impacting the game like he can and was paid to.
Not only is Bertuzzi not producing as much offense as the Blackhawks need, he isn't hitting or mixing it up to get him penalty minutes nearly as much. He had 98 hits and 54 penalty minutes last season in 80 games. Through 11 games this season, the winger has eight hits and four penalty minutes.
Bertuzzi is a top-6 talent and should be given a longer leash considering the other options to move up the lineup if he drops, but there should definitely be more mixing and matching to get him going. If someone in his position isn't playing where he typically can, it's a problem for not only this season, but the remainder of his contract.
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