This is definitely a do-or-die season for Boston. The Boston Bruins have shelled out another 1st round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Tyler Bertuzzi as the time to win one last Stanely Cup is clearly now.
I think we all knew that this was the last season the Bruins had a chance of winning the Stanley Cup with the 2011 Cup-winning core, but this move definitely proves it.
After already trading for Capitals D Dmitry Orlov and W Garnet Hathaway a few days ago to shore up their depth, the Bruins have made another huge move to add another member to their Top-6 forward core in Tyler Bertuzzi in exchange for their 2024 1st round pick (Top-10 protected) and a 2025 4th round pick.
Now, if the injuries to Taylor Hall (which could be very serious as he was moved to long-term IR) and Nick Foligno didn’t happen and teams like Toronto, Carolina, and New Jersey didn’t bulk up their rosters with trades, I don’t think the Bruins make this move.
Not only is the 2024 1st round pick one of their last high-end draft picks left available for them to retool an aging roster, but they will also need such high pick in the near future as both Bergeron (37) and Krejci (36) are probably retiring after the season.
But, after two failed bids for the Stanely Cup (2013 vs. Blackhawks, 2019 vs. Blues), the Bruins management, coaching staff, and the very players themselves now realize that this is their last ever chance of reclaiming the ultimate prize in all of hockey and cementing their legacies as some of the best Bruins players of all time.
Thus, they have shipped out another 1st round pick in the last few days for a talented but aging and injury-prone player that might only be on the team for two months before hitting free agency.
Though, if I had to pick up one of the available out of contract, injury-prone stars on the market, it’d probably be Tyler Bertuzzi.
Taking after his infamous father (Todd Bertuzzi), Tyler Bertuzzi is one of the premiere agitators and pests in all of the NHL when he’s healthy and firing. In 305 games across seven years with Detroit, Bertuzzi has 88 G, 114 A, and 202 PTS, while he had a career year last season with 30 G, 32 A, and 62 PTS in 68 games.
He really is a fantastic talent that can fit into any Top-6 forward pairing in the NHL and has the skillset to play on the powerplay and score 30+ goals a season.
However, as you probably could figure out, missed a lot of time with only playing in 305 games in seven seasons (574 total games available to play) for the Red Wings.
In truth, he’s barely played in 50% (53% to be exact) of the games since his rookie season, while the Red Wings have also failed to make the playoffs in each one of those seasons. I’m not saying that his inability to stay healthy is the direct cause of such a correlation, but his unavailability has not helped the Red Wings make the playoffs either.
To be honest, it’s really the only reason why Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman was comfortable moving on from the former 58th overall pick and trading him to a divisional rival. There’s simply no guarantee Bertuzzi, who’s only played in 28 games this season and contributed 4 G and 10 A for 14 PTS due to hand/wrist issues, will be healthy and productive enough for the Bruins playoff run and beyond.
Nevertheless, Bruins GM Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely have to take that risk as the Eastern Conference has gotten significantly stronger over the last few days.
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