What Tyler Bertuzzi's playoff series vs. Panthers says about what he brings to Toronto

Tyler Bertuzzi entered free agency this offseason as a tricky player to put a valuation on.

Skeptics could point to the fact he was coming off an eight-goal season, and durability had consistently been an issue for the winger. Those bullish on Bertuzzi noted that he authored a 30-goal season in 2021-22, and 28-year-old forwards capable of thriving in top-line roles are rarely available on the free-agent market.

What may have tipped the scales for teams interested in Bertuzzi — including the Toronto Maple Leafs who ultimately signed him to a one-year, $5.5-million deal — was what he did in his first taste of playoff action with the Boston Bruins.

Although his 2022-23 regular season wasn't particularly impressive, he came alive in Boston's first-round battle with the Florida Panthers.

Bertuzzi saved his best work for last, giving an excellent final impression to teams looking to sign him while simultaneously showing he was the type of player capable of making an impact in the postseason.

It would be unfair to say the Maple Leafs signed Bertuzzi solely based on what he did in seven games against the Panthers, but it would be naive to assume it didn't play a meaningful role in their pursuit of the winger.

A closer look at his playoff performance can give us a better understanding of both what Toronto saw in Bertuzzi, and what the forward is likely to bring to the Maple Leafs in 2023-24.

Here's what watching every minute of the 28-year-old's postseason career revealed:

Bertuzzi's playmaking stands out

Although the most-cited item on Bertuzzi's resume is his 30-goal season — and he's never topped 32 assists in a campaign — what stood out most about his play in seven games against the Panthers was how he set his teammates up.

Perhaps his most impressive passing highlight came in Game 1 when he decisively pounced on a loose puck in front and put it behind his back to set up an easy goal.

When watching Bertuzzi it's clear he has an excellent sense of where his teammates are and where they're going. That allows him to make quick, creative decisions.

He produced another similar assist in Game 6 from his netfront position:

Bertuzzi's passing strength isn't just in quick hands and fast thinking, either. There are times when he holds onto the puck effectively, takes his time, and finds teammates through traffic.

Each of the next two plays — both from Game 3 — could've easily been goals as Bertuzzi controlled the puck, brought it around the net, and gave David Pastrnak a chance to do what he does best.

In his playoff cameo, Bertuzzi consistently played with elite talents like Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, and it was clear his priority was creating opportunities for them.

While Bertuzzi had no qualms with finding his own shot, he also showed he had no issue playing the kind of deferential role he'll have alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto.

Bertuzzi's career shot attempts per game (3.54) are between what Zach Hyman (3.34) and Michael Bunting (3.69) produced during their time with the team. He'll be looking to pass the puck to the Maple Leafs stars plenty, and based on his playmaking ability the results are likely to be solid.

The hand-eye is impressive

Part of what makes Bertuzzi such a compelling offensive player is what he's able to do around the net. The 28-year-old likes to live near the blue ice on the power play and drive to the crease whenever he can in 5-on-5 play.

During his Detroit Red Wings tenure, he scored six more goals on tips and deflections than any other player (17). Boston seemed to unlock him as a netfront difference-maker when he joined the team.

Six of the nine goals he scored with the Bruins in the regular season and playoffs were tipped, deflected, or batted in.

The highlight may have been this marker from Game 4, which Bertuzzi didn't need to crowd the net to score.

Bertuzzi's ability to get his stick on the puck has obvious offensive applications, but it can also come in handy all over the ice.

In Game 2, for instance, he was able to defuse a dangerous situation in his own defensive zone by batting a puck out of the air and down the ice.

While the uses for Bertuzzi's hand-eye won't often be that dramatic, they can make a difference at the margins as the forward is able to make things happen when the puck's in the air.

Bertuzzi is tenacious

The Maple Leafs are clearly excited about the "snot" Bertuzzi brings to their lineup — and while the terminology is a bit perplexing, the sentiment is understandable.

Bertuzzi hasn't been a prolific hitter, averaging just 1.06 hits per game during his regular-season career, but he delivered 18 hits in seven playoff games with the Bruins, indicating a willingness to turn the dial up on his physicality with the stakes at their highest.

Some of those 18 hits were impressive, too, like this one from Game 5 where Bertuzzi took on Radko Gudas, one of the toughest men in the business.

Most of the aforementioned snot takes the form of antics that come before the puck is dropped or after the whistle is blown.

In Game 1, Bertuzzi made waves for stealing the stick of Nick Cousins...

... and in Game 2 he got some pushing and shoving going thanks to a cross-check just after the whistle:

It's often worth questioning the utility of plays like this and whether they affect winning in a meaningful way. To Bertuzzi's credit, his inclination to mix it up has rarely resulted in penalty trouble. The 28-year-old has drawn 40 more penalties (102) than he's taken in his NHL career (62).

That a significant contrast to Bunting, who drew far more penalties than that in his time with Toronto on a per-game basis, but was called for almost as many himself. In 2022-23 Bunting ranked second in the NHL in penalties drawn (43), but took 42 trips to the box.

Bertuzzi's tenacity also leads to plays that are more transparently beneficial to his team. In order to score this Game 7 goal, for instance, he had to win a battle for positioning with Gudas.

His max-effort style also leads to some impressive moments on the forecheck. Bertuzzi won't remind Maple Leafs fans of Hyman in that regard on a consistent basis, but he doesn't give up when he sniffs the puck.

On this play early in Game 5, a disruptive stick quickly turned into Bertuzzi winning a battle with two defenders, and gaining possession for his squad.

Bertuzzi's energetic style makes for eventful shifts — and more often than not that's a good thing for his team.

There are some warts

There are plenty of positives to be drawn from Bertuzzi's productive series with the Bruins, but the marquee performance wasn't without its blemishes.

Most of those issues came in the defensive zone, where the winger is no Mark Stone.

Bertuzzi isn't a defensive disaster but his high-motor physicality doesn't always translate in his own end. On occasion, his focus on providing a passing outlet for his defenseman can have him floating out of position — and there are times when his effort level seems to sag.

Bertuzzi can also get in trouble defensively when he rushes his passes.

In most cases, the way he makes quick decisions benefits his team as it opens up seams on offense before opponents can react. The difficulty that arises is that Bertuzzi knows his strengths and sometimes his confidence can veer into overconfidence.

On offense, the cost of an errant quick delivery is usually just the dissipation of a scoring chance. On defense, the price of trying to hurry a pass can be much worse.

Bertuzzi's ugliest sequence of reckless defensive-zone passing came in Game 3, when he committed two major turnovers in the first three minutes of the contest.

Neither of those plays led to goals, but this Game 5 giveaway across the front of the crease ultimately resulted in the puck in the back of the net. It was a devastating mistake in a game that went to overtime and kept the Panthers alive in the series.

Another issue with Bertuzzi is that the style he plays doesn't always line up with his relatively light 6-foot-1, 184-pound frame. While throwing your body around when you lack bulk is courageous, it's not always effective.

Bertuzzi finds himself on the ice fairly frequently, and getting bullied out of plays by big defensemen isn't particularly uncommon. When he tries to be the hammer, there's a pretty good chance he'll become the nail.

Because he's a relative lightweight, there are quite a few times when pretty incidental contact can have him stumbling — like this sequence where he loses his footing three times on a play that found its way into Boston's net.

None of these flaws are fatal. Bertuzzi is no defensive ace, but few top-line wingers are. He had a few notable plays in his own zone during the series, and the Bruins trusted him to play in the last two minutes when they were holding one-goal leads on multiple occasions.

His passing is far more of a positive than a negative overall, and the same case could be made for the way he tries to throw his body around.

When a player is both a scorer and an agitator like Bertuzzi is, they are often presented as one with no notable flaws. Toronto's new winger is as fallible as anyone else, though.

Conclusions

It's easy to see why the Maple Leafs perceive Bertuzzi as a fit in their lineup. His best offensive skills are his abilities to be an elite netfront presence and find his teammates with the puck in dangerous positions.

That skillset fits perfectly alongside Matthews and Marner, which is where the Maple Leafs likely envision him playing. He already demonstrated a knack for setting up one of the NHL's best scorers in Pastrnak — and that should translate nicely to teeing up Matthews.

It will be interesting to see if he ever gets time on the first-unit power play as his close-quarters abilities are a bit redundant with what John Tavares brings to the table.

Bertuzzi isn't the thoroughbred puck retriever that Hyman was, and plays a game more in the Bunting mold. That's fine for the Maple Leafs as they have plenty of proof-of-concept for that working in the past two years.

There will be times when poor risk-reward calculations, defensive lapses, and attempts to be physical that don't amount to much have the eyes of Maple Leafs fans rolling — but Bertuzzi's work in the playoffs showed he has what it takes to produce at a high level in Toronto.