Report: Tyler Bertuzzi expected to sign four-year, $5.5 million AAV deal with Chicago Blackhawks

It appears the Chicago Blackhawks are ready to start insulating budding superstar Connor Bedard with veteran forward help. As reported by Jay Rosehill of The Nation Network’s Leafs Morning Take Sunday night, scrappy left winger Tyler Bertuzzi is expected to sign with Chicago July 1 once the UFA window officially opens at noon ET.

Bertuzzi, 29, is expected to ink a four-year contract carrying a $5.5 million AAV.

There was mutual interest between Bertuzzi and the Toronto Maple Leafs for him to re-sign after he played with them on a one-year, $5.5 million prove-it deal this past season. Bertuzzi was snakebitten to start his season, scoring just six goals and picking up 21 points in his first 51 games, but he found his groove down the stretch on a line with Auston Matthews and Max Domi, tallying 15 goals and 22 points in his final 29 games. Bertuzzi added four points in seven playoff games to boot.

With the Leafs extending Domi Sunday on a four-year extension with a $3.75 million AAV and zeroing in on signing UFA defenseman Chris Tanev, whose rights they acquired on Day 2 of the NHL Draft Saturday, Bertuzzi was priced out of Toronto. He joins a Blackhawks team that finished with the league’s second-worst record in 2023-24 and just picked in the top two of the draft for a second consecutive season, selecting defenseman Artyom Levshunov.

On a team devoid of impactful veteran talent at the moment, Bertuzzi, one of the league’s better pests, should get every opportunity to play on Bedard’s wing. Bertuzzi wouldn’t be earning the reported $5.5 million per season if that wasn’t the case. Since breaking out as a scoring winger in 2018-19, Bertuzzi averages 25 goals and 55 points per 82 games.