By: Ryan Duffy | Follow Me On Twitter @Rduffy26
With the Bruins being eliminated by the Florida Panthers from the Stanley Cup Playoffs last week, Boston’s management has many difficult questions to answer, with multiple players set to enter free agency this offseason. The Bruins have eight unrestricted free agents, including Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov, Nick Foligno, Connor Clifton, Tomas Nosek, and Garnet Hathaway. They also have a few young restricted free agents in Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic, and Jakub Lauko.
Entering the 2023 offseason, the Bruins have a minimal cap space to sign all eleven players. General manager Don Sweeney and the rest of the upper management will have to make multiple moves to clear up space if they hope to resign a few free agents. One player that management will likely attempt to extend is Tyler Bertuzzi, who was excellent in a Bruins uniform this season.
At the 2023 trade deadline, the Bruins acquired the Sudbury, Ontario native from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Boston’s 2024 protected first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. The deal immediately paid dividends for the Bruins as the former AHL Playoff MVP was an impact player in the Bruins’ forward group. In 21 regular season games, the rugged forward tallied four goals and twelve assists while rotating through the middle-six lines. He eventually scored five goals and five assists in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including three powerplay goals for Boston.
In the playoffs, Bertuzzi showed how much of an impact he can have on the scoreboard and how well he plays when the moments are more significant. He was one of Boston’s most consistent players throughout their first-round matchup against the Panthers. By game seven, Montgomery was confident enough to slot the winger on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. While the result of the match went in favor of the Panthers, Bertuzzi scored the game-tying goal in the third period in clutch fashion.
In their time playing together, Bertuzzi showed electrifying chemistry with David Pastrnak. Bertuzzi miraculously found Pastrnak in congested areas of the offensive zone multiple times throughout the series. It was shocking when Montgomery decided to split up the two wingers from one another when the Bruins went to game seven. The chemistry between Bertuzzi and Pastrnak was certainly encouraging for the Bruins in the playoffs, and hopefully, it won’t be the last time we see him in a Boston uniform.
Per Joe Haggerty of BostonHockeyNow.com, Bertuzzi commented on the possibility of him returning to Boston next season:
“We loved it [in Boston]. Honestly, we had such a blast. We were in the North End eating pasta every day and going for walks, so we enjoyed every day here,” said Bertuzzi. “We could definitely see [staying here].
“The fans here are awesome, the arena…everything. I loved it. Having a little girl that will be going to school soon, there will be a lot of factors that will be going in [to a free agency decision]. But I’ll make the decision.”
The 28-year-old is at the end of his two-year, $9.5 million ($4.75 million AAV) deal he signed with the Detroit Red Wings, and he is absolutely due for a pay raise. Bertuzzi could reach a much higher contract value on the open market with another team. Boston would need to move significant money in order to keep a player of his caliber. Still, one thing is for sure, Don Sweeney and Evan Gold have shown their brilliance recently in avoiding salary cap violations.
As an avid longtime red wing fan I was sad to see Tyler get traded. He was a vital part of our rebuild along side Dylan Larken Lucas Raymond , Moritz Sieder and a few others. You saw the type of player he is. Although I would love to see him back I think it would be foolish for Boston to not resign him. In my opinion Detroit took a step back by losing him. He had a rough year here but sure proved his worth in the Playoffs. That experience even for seven games will help him wherever he goes..