Blackhawks must remove $22M forward off of trade block, for Connor Bedard
Ever since Anders Sorensen came in, he's prioritized the first three strides after the faceoff. Tyler Bertuzzi's first three strides have been to the net-front.
Whether it's 5-on-5 play or on the power play, Bertuzzi works best when he's right in front of the goalie.
Ever since Bertuzzi and Connor Bedard were paired together, they've been clicking on that first line.
It showed against the Rangers at the beginning of the month when Bedard got a nice pick-pocket and threw it down to Bertuzzi, who was hanging out in front of the net. Connor tossed a beautiful pass and Tyler tapped it in.
But the first line got even more strength with the call up and addition of Frank Nazar. Nazar is really scrappy and fights hard in the corners and compliments Bedard.
That works so Bertuzzi can focus on what he does best, and that's scoring goals, as he's not the type to create plays. He just simply can't.
On the power play as well, just fire one in from the point and Bertuzzi will find a way to deflect it in. He had two goals in the game against the Vegas Golden Knights doing just that. He even got one in on the heel of his skate in mid-air.
Bertuzzi currently has 16 goals on the year through 46 games and he might finish the year around 30.
Bertuzzi is 29 and carries a cap hit of $5,500,000 over the next four seasons.
It's a good contract for someone who puts up 20-30 goals per year consistently when he stays healthy and will be only 33 once his contract ends. Plus, if he benefits Bedard and Nazar, with that price tag, why not have him around for that long?
