When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Tyler Bertuzzi in the offseason, the hope was that he was going to provide the intensity and production that was missing when Michael Bunting left in free agency. However, it has been anything but as the production has been below average given how he’s supposed to be an important piece to the team’s offense.
It’s been a challenging season for Bertuzzi as he’s been dealt with long streaks of going cold and inconsistent play. He’s been moving up and down the lineup and was previously in the midst of a 19-game goal drought. He hasn’t lived up to expectations to this point which is concerning given his $5.5 million cap hit. The lack of secondary scoring that he was supposed to bring has been non-existent, where the team needed to find offense elsewhere than just from the core players.
That concern could be put to rest, as he finally had a breakout performance where he was extremely crucial in their 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, scoring a hat trick and the game winning goal. It was great to see Bertuzzi step up to the plate to find the score sheet on more than one occasion. Now, he has an opportunity to build off that game as it has been a difficult season where his production has been anything but great.
Bertuzzi Still Impactful, Despite Production
The lack of production from Bertuzzi has been criticized all season, which is fair. When you’re paid that much money to be a consistent point producer, it’s definitely not going to sit well with the fans and critics. However, even though he wasn’t finding the score sheet, Bertuzzi remained an important player in regards to shot generation and scoring chances when he was on the ice.
You may think that because he wasn’t producing, Bertuzzi’s numbers wouldn’t be that noticeable at all. On the contrary, he’s been the best Maple Leaf forward in a number of key categories, just like he was early on in the season. His numbers at five-on-five (min. 250 minutes) were strong before they had their matchup against the Avalanche. He had the best Corsi for percentage (53.16), expected goals for percentage (55.82), scoring chances for (57.23) and high danger chances for (58.28).
To say that Bertuzzi has been snake-bitten this season is a massive understatement given the numbers above. He’s had his chances and has done a lot of the little things right in regards to winning battles, getting to the middle of the ice and crashing the net for second chance opportunities. He just couldn’t bury his chances. Considering his individual expected goals is 11.29 (15.18 in all situations), he should’ve had much better results to this point. Even head coach Sheldon Keefe has alluded to his play and generating chances in order to be successful.
In the end, Bertuzzi was rewarded for his efforts after months of missed opportunities and bad bounces.
A Great Building Block
After his hat trick, there’s no one more deserving of having the bounces go his way after dealing with cold streak, after cold streak this season. Bertuzzi has been a factor all season and has done everything right except for finding the back of the net. He’s been creating plays as he has 16 assists, but finishing plays has been his demise. He’s had glorious looks and easy goals that either go wide or hits the post.
Post-game, Bertuzzi didn’t dwell too much on his night, but talked more about the team coming together and competing hard. Keefe on the other hand, said that those chances previously wouldn’t go in, but he stayed with it that night and it paid off.
The game against the Avalanche could be a building block for Bertuzzi as he can put together a nice stretch of scoring goals consistently. He definitely showed that he’s capable of doing that last postseason with the Boston Bruins, scoring five times in seven games. If he can get hot at the right moment, then he can definitely be a player that can turn the tide in a game, just like his hat trick. Keefe feels that he can be that player as he calls him “fearless” and a “gamer”.
There were thoughts about moving on from Bertuzzi and if it would’ve been the right move considering his contract, no movement clause and low production. It makes sense however, if he were to be moved, chances are he would’ve found his groove and start producing elsewhere. Given how his underlying metrics were strong it was only a matter of time that he could breakout.
This could be that turning point for Bertuzzi as he elevated his game when everyone else is starting to. After dealing with missed chances throughout the season, he could be on the upward swing and be on the right side of the puck, putting his woes behind him.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick.
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