Bruins extend David Pastrnak, acquire forward Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit - UPDATED

Don Sweeney’s shopping isn’t done just yet.

First, the Bruins acquired forward Tyler Bertuzzi (50 percent retained) from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected) and a 2025 fourth-round pick on Thursday morning. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the deal, and TSN’s Pierre LeBrun confirmed the return before Boston made it official.

Minutes later, Boston extended star winger David Pastrak, who would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer. The eight-year deal carries an average annual value of $11.25 million. Pastrnak reached the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career, leading the Bruins in goals (42), assists (38) and points (80) in 60 games this season.

TSN's Darren Dreger reported the deal carries a full no-movement clause for the first five years before modified trade protection over the final three. It is the sixth-largest contract in NHL history by total dollar amount ($90 million).

Bertuzzi, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent with a cap hit of $4.75 million (down to $2.375 million with the retention). In 29 games with Detroit this season, the winger has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. 

The Sudbury, Ont., native is coming off a career-best season last year with 30 goals and 62 points. In the two prior years, Bertuzzi reached 21 goals and nearly hit 50 points (47 and 48, respectively). 

Dreger reported, “injuries factored into this. Taylor Hall is seeking a second opinion for his lower body issue, The follow-up assessment will determine how long he’s out of the Bruins lineup.”

Boston is down two left-wingers after Hall returned to Boston before Monday’s game at the Edmonton Oilers, which Bruins coach Jim Montgomery did not believe to be serious, and Nick Foligno left Tuesday’s win in Calgary with a lower-body injury after a collision with Nikita Zadorov. 

To make it all work with Bertuzzi’s money, the Bruins placed Hall on LTIR. The B’s also announced that Foligno is on injured reserve with Jakob Lauko getting the call-up from AHL Providence. The moves create $6 million in relief for Boston, which immediately uses $3.1 million of, leaving them with $2.9 million in additional LTIR cap space, according to CapFriendly. 

BSJ ANALYSIS

A lot to unpack here this morning.

Starting with Bertuzzi

Just a few days ago on NESN, Bruins president Cam Neely said, “We still have some time to maybe tinker. We'll look at that. It's a lot of gymnastics going on with the cap but we did give ourselves the opportunity to add if we wanted to."

Tinker they did. 

This is another all-in move for the Bruins. 

Bertuzzi has a reputation for being a hard-nosed, gritty and skilled forward with nine points (3g, 6a) in his last 11 games. Before this season, he had three 20-goal campaigns, including one with 30, in four years (he only suited up in nine contests in 2020-21). 

His production is down in what has been another bad year for Detroit, marred by two hand injuries from blocking shots. Aside from injuries, part of the drop-off in scoring has been luck. His shooting percentage is down to just 6.5. In his previous three full campaigns, he shot at least 16 percent, averaging out to 16.34. 

It is safe to say there’s a happy medium that lies between how Bertuzzi has produced this season and what he has been throughout his career with a shooting percentage of 14.5 throughout his time in the NHL. 

The 6-foot-1, 186-pound winger has established himself as a bonafide top-six option for the Red Wings and should fit in nicely to help Boston load up its top-nine. Importantly, most of the production is done at even-strength. In his two 21-goal seasons, Bertuzzi scored just three on the power play each year. When he hit 30 last year, six goals came on the man-advantage. This season, he ranks in the 30th percentile for power play goals, according to JFresh Hockey.

He also helps drive the offense with his playmaking ability, ranking in the 99th percentile of scoring chance assists this season. Bertuzzi is also in the 98th percentile of rush shot assists and 96th percentile of high-danger passes. So, Boston brings in a winger who is more than capable of creating offense for his teammates while also being able to bury his chances.

Bertuzzi also has a penchant for being a prick to play against, for lack of a better term. He is not overly physical, but he gets under the skin of his opponents during play and after the whistle, which usually results in power play opportunities for his team, ranking in the 89th percentile for penalties drawn. Similar to Garnet Hathaway, he has a history with Brad Marchand, sparking a brawl between the Bruins and Red Wings (and almost a goalie fight between Tuukka Rask and Jimmy Howard) in 2018. 

He’s yet to suit up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since breaking into the league full-time when the Red Wings were beginning to retool, but his pain-in-the-butt style should translate into the postseason. In the AHL with Grand Rapids, he combined for 39 points (23 goals) in 42 playoff contests. 

Sweeney saw Tampa Bay acquire snarly power forward Tanner Jeannot (and sinisterly clear more cap space), Toronto revamp its blue line and the Rangers push even more chips into the middle with Patrick Kane, and he responded after already loading up with Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov.

Hall hits LTIR; Foligno to IR

Aside from a reaction to the continued arms race in the Eastern Conference, Sweeney’s acquisition of Bertuzzi could also be a necessary response to Hall and Foligno’s situation, depending on how long each is out. 

Moving Hall to LTIR helped clear the necessary space to make this move. If he goes the way of Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov in 2021, returning from surgery in time for the playoffs when there is no salary cap, Boston could potentially play around with the extra $2.9 million in relief they have after Bertuzzi. 

Regardless, the injuries are not ideal, and there will assuredly be performance bonus overages for players like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, which will hinder next season’s cap space. Dipping back into LTIR will increase those overages, so Boston has to navigate the finances carefully with an eye toward next year.