Tyler Bertuzzi
The Toronto Maple Leafs sneakily signed Tyler Bertuzzi for one year worth $5.5 million AAV on day two of free agency.
He has struggled with injuries and missing time for… Other reasons the past few seasons.
Aside from that, in the time he has been cleared to play, he has been a top line level talent.
Over the past four seasons, Bertuzzi has played in 127 regular season games, scoring 43 goals and 56 assists for 99 points.
That is a 0.78 points-per-game (PPG) pace. Over a full 82 game schedule that would amount to 64 points.
If he can continue at this pace he would be the most productive non-core four player the Leafs have had in their top-six since Michael Bunting in 2021-22. While Bertuzzi could have an even higher ceiling than Bunting, he will almost certainly not be able to match the value Bunting was bringing for 900K.
Bunting was largely carried by his linemates as I spoke about in an article I wrote stating that the Leafs should not re-sign him.
Unlike Bunting, Bertuzzi has historically been a play-driver, though you can’t discount the fact that two years ago, Bunting put up one of the best 5v5 seasons of any player since advanced stats tracking was implemented.
Better late than never... Tyler Bertuzzi, signed 1x$5.5M by TOR, is a playmaking top six winger who creates lots of scoring chances. Plays with a bit of an edge but doesn't throw a lot of hits and has a good penalty differential. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/iAQzy80DH4
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 2, 2023
Aside from his advanced stats, his raw point totals largely on a basement-dwelling Red Wings squad indicate that he has more to give.
After his trade to the Boston Bruins last season, he produced 16 points in 21 games in the regular season and 10 points in seven playoff games.
It should be noted that the bulk of this production comes from playing on a line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. If given the opportunity to play with Matthews and Marner or Tavares and Nylander, he could easily surpass his pace over the past few seasons.