Wings Nation 2018-19 Player Review: Tyler Bertuzzi
By John Beiser
4 years agoIn his first full season in Detroit, Tyler Bertuzzi made a lasting impression, continuing to showcase a fan-friendly style of play that gave insight into why Griffins fans loved Bert so much, especially at playoff time.
Bertuzzi spent the most productive moments of his season on a line with Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha, which by all accounts should stick together for the entire 2019-20 season based on what we’ve seen from that unit.
CRUNCHING NUMBERS
Tyler Bertuzzi stats via Hockey-Reference.
Bertuzzi tripled his goal total from 7 to 21, finishing 4th on the team in goal scoring behind Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, and Mantha. His 26 assists were second among current Red Wings, Gustav Nyquist managed 33 before he was traded. His 47 points were 5th on the team, including Nyquist. I can’t say everyone expected this good of a season from Bertuzzi, but they sure did hope this would be the case. If he can keep his penalty minutes as low as he did this season moving forward, that would be ideal, as you’d always prefer your best player be on the ice and generating scoring chances.
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2019-20 PREDICTION
I could see Bertuzzi’s floor being in the 40s for points, with a 50+ point season being a very real possibility if he stays healthy and out of the box. As long as he’s with Larkin and Mantha for most of the season, he’ll definitely produce. With the style of game he plays, I’m expecting him to get even better at drawing penalties and not being suckered into retaliating.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Bertuzzi had a really good season and you see there’s still plenty of room for improvement. In a contract year, he’ll not only look to prove that his season wasn’t a fluke but that he’s also going to continue to improve. A 47 point season from Bertuzzi was a real bright spot this past season for the team and he’ll be heavily relied on going forward.
GRADE: A-
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