from Steven Ellis of The Daily Faceoff,

When Tyler Bertuzzi signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2, it looked like a win-win for both sides.

Bertuzzi needed a chance to bounce back after a difficult 2022-23 season. He had 30 points in 50 games between Detroit and Boston last season after dealing with multiple hand injuries. After he scored a career-best 62 points in 2021-22, Bertuzzi and the Leafs were hoping to see him bounce back and be healthy this season.

Health-wise? All’s good. Performance-wise? The opposite.

Bertuzzi enters Wednesday’s meeting with the Arizona Coyotes with 22 points in 53 games. Previously a 30-goal scorer, Bertuzzi is on pace for just 11 this year – the lowest he’s had in any season with at least 50 games played.

His struggles have been well-documented, and his $5.5 million cap hit makes him very, very difficult to trade. So that’s not an option. Getting him back on track is. Coach Sheldon Keefe finally put Bertuzzi on the power play against Anaheim, scoring one of Toronto’s nine goals in a blowout victory.

Great. That’s good to see. But with two goals in his past 32 games, there hasn’t been much celebrating from No. 59.

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