Bertuzzi should enter the market as of one of the better forwards available in a weak free agent class.
Player Overview
A late second-round pick in 2013, Tyler Bertuzzi made the jump to the NHL in the 2017-18 season with the Detroit Red Wings.
Over the two years that followed, Bertuzzi established himself as a top-six winger, scoring at an 82-game pace of 24 goals and 54 points across 144 games through the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
Bertuzzi got into just nine games in the shortended 2021 season though, missing most of the year with a back injury which required surgery. However, he squashed any concerns of the injury having long-term effects on his performance the very next season, scoring 30 goals and 62 points in 68 games with the Red Wings in 2021-22, for the most productive season of his career.
This year, Bertuzzi didn’t have the same success, managing four goals and 14 points in just 29 games with Detroit. However, teams clearly still saw value, and the winger was dealt to the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline for a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Bertuzzi then picked up his play with the Bruins following the move, scoring 16 points in 21 games with his new team.
Bertuzzi can add offense, but he’ll also be a pest to play against. So not only is Betuzzi one of the more productive UFA forwards still currently in his 20s, but the edge to his game and comparisons to the likes of Matthew Tkachuk or Brad Marchand (on a lower-scale) will certainly attract teams in free agency.
What We Know
- Bertuzzi had reportedly made it clear to the Red Wings that he wanted to test free agency, according to Boston Hockey Now.
- The Bruins reportedly want to keep Bertuzzi, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Comparables
Below, we take a look at what Bertuzzi’s deal could look like at different lengths. For more information on the stats/tables used below, including how the payment rate in projections is determined, visit the About the Site page.
For the comparable contracts, we’ll be looking at wingers who were between 26 and 30 years old by Dec. 31 in the first year of their contract.
7/8 YEARS
Obviously, Bertuzzi is only eligible for an eight-year deal if he re-signs with the Bruins within the next week. Otherwise, seven years will be his maximum term.
Below, we look at comparables for both seven-year deals and eight-year deals.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $83.5M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 (50GP) | 23-55 (326GP) | 18-52 | ||||
| Jeff Skinner | 27 | 2019 | 40-63 (82GP) | 30-55 (661GP) | 35-59 | $9.00M 8 years | $9.22M 8 years | 1.56 | $8.13M 8 years |
| Patrick Kane | 28 | 2015 | 34-82 (69GP) | 28-78 (515GP) | 31-80 | $10.50M 8 years | $12.28M 8 years | 1.53 | $7.98M 8 years |
| Jakub Voracek | 27 | 2016 | 22-81 (82GP) | 19-57 (531) | 21-69 | $8.25M 8 years | $9.44M 8 years | 1.37 | $7.11M 8 years |
| Jamie Benn | 28 | 2017 | 41-89 (82GP) | 31-72 (508GP) | 36-81 | $9.50M 8 years | $10.58M 8 years | 1.31 | $6.79M 8 years |
| Mark Stone | 27 | 2019 | 26-82 (64GP) | 28-70 (366GP) | 27-76 | $9.50M 8 years | $9.73M 8 years | 1.28 | $6.66M 8 years |
| **Roope Hintz | 27 | 2023 | 36-77 (103GP) | 28-61 (261GP) | 31-69 | $8.45M 8 years | $8.45M 8 years | 1.22 | $6.37M 8 years |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 27 | 2022 | 30-69 (62GP) | 14-35 (405GP) | 22-52 | $6.13M 8 years | $6.20M 8 years | 1.19 | $6.20M 8 years |
| Brad Marchand | 29 | 2017 | 39-65 (77GP) | 28-52 (454GP) | 34-59 | $6.13M 8 years | $6.82M 8 years | 1.16 | $6.01M 8 years |
| *David Pastrnak | 27 | 2023 | 58-112 (61GP) | 41-84 (571GP) | 50-98 | $11.25M 8 years | $11.25M 8 years | 1.15 | $5.97M 8 years |
| Jonathan Huberdeau | 30 | 2022 | 31-118 (80GP) | 24-75 (671GP) | 28-97 | $10.50M 8 years | $10.63M 8 years | 1.10 | $5.70M 8 years |
| Nikita Kucherov | 26 | 2019 | 40-103 (80GP) | 33-75 (365GP) | 37-89 | $9.50M 8 years | $9.73M 8 years | 1.09 | $5.68M 8 years |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 29 | 2021 | 30-79 (54GP) | 26-61 (687GP) | 28-70 | $7.00M 8 years | $7.17M 8 years | 1.02 | $5.33M 8 years |
** Deal signed early into season – stats from that year before signing, as well as previous year are combined for Signing Year stats
Most of the eight-year contracts you see for wingers above are for players with higher production. Even while Nichushkin and Marchand both had a production mid point in the 50s, every single comp listed had a signing year P/82 of at least 63, which is quite a bit higher than Bertuzzi’s 49 P/82 this season.
That said, the comparables do project a range of $5.33M to $8.13M on the high end. Of those comparables though, two of the three that put him above $7M (Skinner and Kane) were huge overpayments even at the time. Then on the flip side, the four comparables which put Bertuzzi below $6.00M were all signed by a player coming off a massive year, where they put up better numbers than they have over their career. As a result, their payment rate was lower than many others, given a team wouldn’t be significantly overpaying based on a single massive season, which skewed the payment rate.
So with that, the most likely range would be between $6M to $6.8M, projected by the five deals from the Benn contract to the Marchand contract. In particular, Nichushkin’s $6.2M projection makes sense, given the forward had the same production mid point of 52.
Then for seven-year deals, we do actually see players who had more similar production to Bertuzzi getting that length of a contract.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $83.5M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 (50GP) | 23-55 (326GP) | 18-52 | ||||
| Anders Lee | 29 | 2019 | 28-51 (82GP) | 29-50 (425GP) | 29-51 | $7.00M 7 years | $7.17M 7 years | 1.41 | $7.31M 7 years |
| Artemi Panarin | 28 | 2019 | 29-90 (79GP) | 30-81 (322GP) | 30-86 | $11.64M years | $11.93M 7 years | 1.39 | $7.21M 7 years |
| Evander Kane | 27 | 2018 | 30-57 (78GP) | 27-51 (574GP) | 29-54 | $7.00M 7 years | $7.35M 7 years | 1.36 | $7.08M 7 years |
| Milan Lucic | 28 | 2016 | 20-56 (81GP) | 20-50 (647GP) | 20-53 | $6.00M 7 years | $6.86M 7 years | 1.29 | $6.73M 7 years |
| *Chris Kreider | 29 | 2020 | 33-62 (60GP) | 25-50 (520GP) | 38-56 | $6.50M 7 years | $6.66M 7 years | 1.19 | $6.18M 7 years |
| **Cam Atkinson | 29 | 2018 | 36-57 (97GP) | 26-48 (397GP) | 31-53 | $5.88M 7 years | $6.18M 7 years | 1.17 | $6.06M 7 years |
| Kevin Fiala | 26 | 2022 | 33-85 (82GP) | 24-55 (419GP) | 29-70 | $7.88M 7 years | $7.98M 7 years | 1.14 | $5.93M 7 years |
| Kyle Okposo | 28 | 2016 | 23-66 (79GP) | 22-57 (529GP) | 23-62 | $6.00M 7 years | $6.86M 7 years | 1.11 | $5.75M 7 years |
| Zach Hyman | 29 | 2021 | 29-63 (43GP) | 20-44 (345GP) | 25-54 | $5.50M 7 years | $5.63M 7 years | 1.04 | $5.42M 7 years |
| Johnny Gaudreau | 29 | 2022 | 40-115 (82GP) | 29-83 (602GP) | 35-99 | $9.75M 7 years | $9.87M 7 years | 1.00 | $5.18M 7 years |
** Deal signed early into season – stats from that year before signing, as well as previous year are combined for Signing Year stats
As was the case with the eight-year deals, the seven-year contract projections came in wildly similar. Once again, of the samples, three projections would have Bertuzzi above $7M, while four would have him below $6M.
For the same reasons the Pastrnak/Huberdeau/Kucherov/Landeskog projections came in low, Gaudreau’s would as well. He had a gigantic contract year which would skew his production mid point (and also likely result in a lower payment rate).
Then on the upper end, the Lee and Panarin projections are too high, once you factor in the context. Lee had a season under his belt as the New York Islanders’ captain, and only a year after previous captain John Tavares left in free agency, the Islanders were willing to overpay to keep him. Then in Panarin’s case, he was the top free agent on the market and got paid like it.
So the more reasonable range for a seven-year deal from the projections is likely $5.4M to $7.1M. Within this range though, it does get pretty difficult to establish a reasonable projection. The Zach Hyman contract could be a very good comparable on the low end, but Bertuzzi also had a higher P/82 than most of the seven players within the range.
What I would say though is something that stands out is how career games played might impact payment rate. All of Kane, Lucic and Kreider, from $6.2M to $7.1M projections, had at least 520 games of NHL experience before signing. Meanwhile, of the four players from the $5.4M to $6.1M range, only Okposo had more than 420 games of NHL experience.
What this could point to is that Bertuzzi, at 326GP, may be more likely to come in on the middle to low end of this overall range, similar to where the eight-year projections would have him.
Again, it’s tough to predict, but somewhere around $6M could be the most realistic.
6 YEARS
We’ve really seen teams move away from giving out six-year deals to UFA wingers around Bertuzzi’s age. Typically, a player is valuable enough to get the full seven (or eight) years, or they’re down at five years.
However, there are some examples.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $83.5M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 (50GP) | 23-55 (326GP) | 18-52 | ||||
| Charlie Coyle | 28 | 2020 | 13-37 (106GP) | 15-41 (525GP) | 14-39 | $5.25M 6 years | $5.38M 6 years | 1.38 | $7.17M 6 years |
| *Brendan Gallagher | 29 | 2021 | 33-54 (35GP) | 26-50 (582GP) | 30-52 | $6.50M 6 years | $6.66M 6 years | 1.28 | $6.66M 6 years |
| Blake Coleman | 30 | 2021 | 21-46 (55GP) | 19-34 (301GP) | 20-40 | $4.90M 6 years | $5.02M 6 years | 1.26 | $6.53M 6 years |
| Blake Wheeler | 27 | 2013 | 32-70 (48GP) | 21-51 (372GP) | 27-61 | $5.60M 6 years | $7.27M 6 years | 1.19 | $6.20M 6 years |
| Nick Foligno | 28 | 2015 | 41-77 (34GP) | 17-39 (500GP) | 29-58 | $5.50M 6 years | $6.43M 6 years | 1.11 | $5.76M 6 years |
| *Josh Bailey | 29 | 2018 | 21-88 (58GP) | 14-43 (697GP) | 18-66 | $5.00M 6 years | $5.25M 6 years | 0.80 | $4.14M 6 years |
| Bryan Rust | 30 | 2022 | 33-79 (60GP) | 24-52 (424GP) | 29-66 | $5.13M 6 years | $5.19M 6 years | 0.79 | $4.09M 6 years |
** Deal signed early into season – stats from that year before signing, as well as previous year are combined for Signing Year stats
Once again, we see a pretty similar projection range. As was the case with others, Bailey, Rust and Foligno all have a lower payment rate, coming off a massive contract year, in comparison to their career production to that point. On the flip side, Coyle’s deal was arguably an overpayment at the time, though he did also have the ability to play center, which set him apart from Bertuzzi.
As was the case with the 7/8-year projections, the most realistic range falls around $6M or above, between about $6.20M and $6.65M.
There’s also an argument to be made that a six-year deal could be more valuable than a seven or eight-year deal, given it would carry less risk for a player coming off a less productive year. At the very least, I think the cap hit on a six-year deal wouldn’t shift a ton from where it would be on a 7/8-year deal, rather than coming in lower.
5 YEARS
Five years is likely only a possibility for Bertuzzi if teams aren’t willing him to offer him a longer deal, which may be unrealistic.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $83.5M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 (50GP) | 23-55 (326GP) | 18-52 | ||||
| *Jakob Silfverberg | 29 | 2019 | 23-35 (56GP) | 19-40 (475GP) | 21-38 | $5.25M 5 years | $5.38M 5 years | 1.42 | $7.36M 5 years |
| James van Riemsdyk | 29 | 2018 | 36-55 (81GP) | 27-53 (609GP) | 32-54 | $7.00M 5 years | $7.35M 5 years | 1.36 | $7.08M 5 years |
| Michael Frolik | 27 | 2015 | 19-42 (82GP) | 15-38 (512GP) | 17-40 | $4.30M 5 years | $5.03M 5 years | 1.26 | $6.54M 5 years |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 27 | 2022 | 21-42 (74GP) | 16-31 (412GP) | 19-37 | $4.50M 5 years | $4.55M 5 years | 1.23 | $6.39M 5 years |
| Reilly Smith | 26 | 2016 | 25-50 (82GP) | 18-43 (43GP) | 22-47 | $5.00M 5 years | $5.57M 5 years | 1.19 | $6.16M 5 years |
| Jordan Eberle | 29 | 2019 | 20-39 (78GP) | 26-59 (666GP) | 23-49 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.63M 5 years | 1.15 | $5.97M 5 years |
| Craig Smith | 26 | 2015 | 23-44 (82GP) | 19-43 (277GP) | 21-44 | $4.25M 5 years | $4.97M 5 years | 1.13 | $5.87M 5 years |
| Jaden Schwartz | 29 | 2021 | 16-43 (40GP) | 23-56 (560GP) | 20-50 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.63M 5 years | 1.13 | $5.86M 5 years |
| Jason Zucker | 26 | 2018 | 33-64 (82GP) | 24-43 (340GP) | 29-54 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.78M 5 years | 1.07 | $5.57M 5 years |
| Ondrej Palat | 26 | 2017 | 19-57 (75GP) | 20-58 (307GP) | 20-58 | $5.30M 5 years | $5.90M 5 years | 1.02 | $5.29M 5 years |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand | 26 | 2021 | 26-64 (49GP) | 22-48 (305GP) | 24-56 | $5.40M 5 years | $5.53M 5 years | 0.99 | $5.14M 5 years |
That said, we can see that the projected cap hit range may drop a bit on a five-year deal. Aside from outliers in the form of Silfverberg and van Riemsdyk which would put Bertuzzi above $7M, and a few that would have him around $5.5M or lower, six of the 11 comparables have him between $5.86M and $6.54M.
So while the cap hit may be slightly lower on a five-year deal, based on more comparables putting him lower than comps for other terms, Bertuzzi would likely still end up close to $6M on a five-year deal.
4 YEARS
Especially considering Bertuzzi seems set on cashing in big in free agency, term will likely be a huge part of that. As a result, taking a deal at four years or less doesn’t really make a ton of sense.
That said, there are some comparables below.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $83.5M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 (50GP) | 23-55 (326GP) | 18-52 | ||||
| Tomas Tatar | 27 | 2017 | 25-46 (82GP) | 24-46 (345GP) | 25-46 | $5.30M 4 years | $5.90M 4 years | 1.28 | $6.67M 4 years |
| Kyle Palmieri | 30 | 2021 | 16-34 (51GP) | 25-48 (612GP) | 21-41 | $5.00M 4 years | $5.12M 4 years | 1.25 | $6.49M 4 years |
| Adrian Kempe | 26 | 2022 | 37-57 (78GP) | 19-39 (390GP) | 28-48 | $5.50M 4 years | $5.57M 4 years | 1.16 | $6.00M 4 years |
| Mike Hoffman | 27 | 2016 | 30-62 (78GP) | 26-50 (186GP) | 28-56 | $5.19M 4 years | $5.94M 4 years | 1.06 | $5.51M 4 years |
| Mathieu Perreault | 29 | 2017 | 10-47 (71GP) | 18-41 (361GP) | 18-44 | $4.13M 4 years | $4.60M 4 years | 1.05 | $5.44M 4 years |
| *Mats Zuccarello | 28 | 2015 | 16-51 (60GP) | 17-52 (204GP) | 17-52 | $4.50M 4 years | $5.26M 4 years | 1.01 | $5.26M 4 years |
| Gustav Nyquist | 30 | 2019 | 22-61 (81GP) | 21-50 (500GP) | 22-56 | $5.50M 4 years | $5.63M 4 years | 1.01 | $5.23M 4 years |
| Mikkel Boedker | 27 | 2016 | 17-52 (80GP) | 15-40 (463GP) | 16-46 | $4.00M 4 years | $4.58M 4 years | 1.00 | $5.18M 4 years |
| Taylor Hall | 30 | 2021 | 15-51 (53GP) | 27-72 (680GP) | 21-62 | $6.00M 4 years | $6.15M 4 years | 0.99 | $5.16M 4 years |
| Pavel Buchnevich | 26 | 2021 | 30-73 (54GP) | 22-53 (301GP) | 26-63 | $5.80M 4 years | $5.94M 4 years | 0.94 | $4.90M 4 years |
| Anthony Mantha | 26 | 2020 | 31-72 (43GP) | 26-55 (260GP) | 29-64 | $5.70M 4 years | $5.84M 4 years | 0.91 | $4.75M 4 years |
| *Alex Iafallo | 28 | 2021 | 23-53 (40GP) | 16-39 (267GP) | 20-46 | $4.00M 4 years | $4.10M 4 years | 0.89 | $4.63M 4 years |
| Tyler Toffoli | 28 | 2020 | 29-53 (68GP) | 23-47 (525GP) | 26-50 | $4.25M 4 years | $4.35M 4 years | 0.87 | $4.53M 4 years |
We also see an incredibly defined range of what to expect if Betuzzi signed a four-year deal.
Aside from four outlier contracts that would put him between $4.5M and $4.9M on the low end, along with three comps that put him between $6M and $6.7M on the high end, there are six comps in the middle of the projection range which would all have Bertuzzi between $5.15M and $5.51M.
Again, it’s a slim chance Bertuzzi ends up on a four-year deal, as he’ll almost surely be offered more term. It also seems like it would warrant a lower cap hit based on comparables, and he’d only become a UFA again at 32 years old.
If we did see him on a four-year deal instead though, most comps would put him around the $5.25M mark.
Projection
Bertuzzi will enter free agency as one of the most attractive options in a weak class of UFAs. Chances are, his deal should come in between five and seven years, close to a $6M cap hit.
| Term | Projected Cap Hit | Maximum | Minimum |
| 7/8 Years | $6.13M | $7.00M | $5.00M |
| 6 Years | $6.17M | $6.67M | $5.67M |
| 5 Years | $6.00M | $6.55M | $5.55M |
There are also comparables which put his contract as short as a four-year deal, at a lower cap hit:
| Term | Projected Cap Hit | Maximum | Minimum |
| 4 Years | $5.25M | $7.00M | $5.00M |
Hockey Comparables 
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