Early Monday morning, the Blackhawks reportedly have an agreement in place with their first free-agent addition of the offseason.
According to a slew of media reports, the Blackhawks will be signing former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi, a move that won’t be made official until free agency opens at 11 a.m. CT.
The team confirmed the news later on Monday afternoon:
The initial report came from former NHLer and current podcaster Jay Rosehill a little after midnight:
Early Monday morning, David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period had the contract terms:
Bertuzzi, who turned 29 in February, is a 6-foot-1, 186-pound forward played 80 regular-season games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, tallying 43 points (21 G, 22 A) with an average ice time of 16:02. He added a goal and three assists in seven postseason games.
Bertuzzi is the nephew — not the son — of former NHLer Todd Bertuzzi, and those family traits were evident in Tyler Bertuzzi’s 53 penalty minutes with Toronto last season, which was fourth on the team, as he’s never been shy about engaging in extracurriculars on ice.
A veteran of 406 games across eight NHL seasons, Bertuzzi’s most productive season with the Detroit Red Wings in 2021-22, when he had 62 points (30 G, 32 A) in 68 games. That was the only time in Bertuzzi’s career that he’s eclipsed either the 50 or 60-point plateau, though.
The goal of this acquisition is obvious: it’s part of the offensive help for Connor Bedard and the entire Blackhawks forward corps desperately needs, because the team was woefully inept at producing offensively last season. He likely won’t completely revamp Chicago’s offensive production, but he can certainly help: