2023 Player Ratings: Tyler Bertuzzi filled a need, then bailed

The whole “Tyler Bertuzzi as a Bruin” scenario can be viewed through many different lenses.

He was a big deadline pick-up for a team that had very few holes. He performed well in the regular season but stepped it up in the playoffs. He was ultimately part of a group that simply wasn't good enough and flopped in the playoffs.

Ultimately, he was acquired to fill an important top-six role and bolster the Bruins’ depth. He did both, but it was all for naught.

It kind of feels like Bertuzzi’s tenure has been tainted by the fact that he elected to skip town, signing a short-term deal with the Maple Leafs after informing the B’s he’d be seeking more money and term elsewhere (only for that to never materialize).

If you looked at his time last season and ended it with “it’ll be exciting to see what he can do over a full season for the next few years,” it feels different.

Instead, the B’s paid a steep price for the guy and didn’t even get out of the first round, let alone challenge for the Cup.

Still, you can hardly fault Bertuzzi for the playoff flop. He scored five goals in the Florida series, including several of the greasy/scrappy variety that the team hoped he’d add.

Ten points in a seven-game series certainly isn’t going to land you high on the blame leaderboard.

(It’s worth noting, however, that Bertuzzi shot a whopping 23.8% in the playoffs, so...yeah.)

You can’t be blamed for lumping Bertuzzi in with the rest of the underachieving group, even if his role in the underachievement was relatively minor.

When you’re a prized deadline acquisition and the team still gets bounced in the first round, it’s hard to look at your tenure through rose-colored glasses.

Overall, as our ratings show, most people around these parts think Bertuzzi did his job and was a worth acquisition for the B’s.

It’s just a shame that it didn’t lead to much more than wondering about what could have been.