Before joining the Blackhawks, Tyler Bertuzzi had some of the more successful seasons of his career while playing for Jeff Blashill in Detroit. The two seemed to click last year. Blashill regularly talked about how much of a pro Bertuzzi is and how he plays the game hard. Bertuzzi had a big fan behind the Blackhawks’ bench in his head coach, and he showed that he deserved that praise last year.
Last year, Bertuzzi finished the month of October with two goals and four assists in ten games. He then scored 30 goals in 69 games the rest of the way, finishing the 2025-26 season as the Blackhawks’ leading scorer with 32.
Bertuzzi really broke out in November, scoring 11 goals in 12 games. Six of those goals came on the power play. The Blackhawks were actually playing quite well at that point, and Bertuzzi was a big part of their success.
Before the new season began, the Blackhawks placed a permanent A on Bertuzzi’s chest, making him an assistant captain with Patrick Kane in the new leadership group. It was an earned place of respect for Bertuzzi.
Fast forward to the middle of November. The Blackhawks have scored four power play goals in their first 18 games. Bertuzzi has six points in his first 18 appearances of the 2026-27 season, is shooting 11.1 percent — one of the worst marks of his career — and is averaging 70 seconds fewer on the ice than he did last year.
To be absolutely clear: the Blackhawks need more from Tyler Bertuzzi.
Blackhawks forward Tyler BertuzziWhere’s Bert?
Between the 2018-19 and the 2025-26 seasons as a full-time NHL player, Bertuzzi averaged two shots on net and 3.6 shot attempts per game. Over his last three seasons — one in Toronto and two with the Blackhawks during which he’s averaged 25.4 goals in 80 games per season — Bertuzzi has averaged 1.9 shots on net and 3.5 shot attempts per game.
Thru 18 games to start the 2026-27 season, Bertuzzi has 18 shots on net and 37 shot attempts (roughly two per game).
I asked Blashill his thoughts on Bertuzzi’s start to the season after practice on Monday. He didn’t offer the same ringing endorsement we became accustomed to hearing last year.
“I think Tyler would tell you it’s not as good as last year. Probably felt like it was better last year,” Blashill said. “That’s kind of how I would feel. But with that said, that’s not a compete or work [issue] or any of that. It just feels like the power play hasn’t been as good as it was at this time last year. He was on it for a good significant amount of time. I still think he adds a lot of value on a night to night basis on his ability to win pucks, on his ability to go to net front, on his compete level. But probably like the rest of our team, not as good as we want it to be.”
And yet, while Blashill has frequently thrown his forward lines in the blender this season, Bertuzzi continues to be afforded prominent roles. At Monday’s practice, Bertuzzi was riding shotgun on the top line with Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov. According to Natural Stat Trick (at 5-on-5), the Blackhawks have a higher shot attempt percentage when Bedard and/or Kantserov are on the ice without Bertuzzi than when they’re on with him.
Please don’t read this as singling out Bertuzzi has a singular core problem for the Blackhawks. I might suggest his struggles have been a symptom as much as a contribution to the case. But he led the team in scoring last year and wears an A on his chest for a reason. He’s produced, and he’s respected in the room.
Every player on the Blackhawks’ roster needs to be better. But Bertuzzi doing more of what we saw last year would go a long way in helping to turn the ship in the right direction.
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