He doesn’t switch up the core four after a bad shift. He’s not afraid to move Jarnkrok, Kampf, Gregor up and down but he’s scared to split Matthews/Marner and Tavares/Nylander. I think that’s more of the issue.
Expectations for Tyler Bertuzzi
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Jimmy Firecracker
Backcheck, Forecheck, Paycheque.
I would leave knies with Domi they seem to have chemistry and you need 3 lines going with Kampf .
I agree, they did a great job creating chances last game. I think the issue is that Kampf is limited offensively but he may be able to cover for them defensively.
Jarnkrok makes me nervous on the top line but imo thats a Matthews problem. Crosby has no problem making average 3rd line wingers into 60 point wingers. For $13+ million I have same expectation of Matthews.
I wouldnt mind seeing Matthews and Nylander to see what it would look like should we move on from Marner? I cant see them not extending/trading Marner but it would be good to know what that would feel like.
Jarnkrok-Matthews-Nylander
Bertuzzi-Tavares-Marner
Domi-Holmberg-Knies
Gregor-Kampf-Reaves
trellaine201
Registered User
It's early and he's creating chances, I'm sure he will turn it around but he's on the struggle bus right now.
He’s looked a lot better playing with Tavares. Their playing styles match up a lot better. And that entire line with Nylander looked pretty good!
34
Registered User
- Mar 26, 2010
- 22,138
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Yes, they dodged a bullet. Not a good player. No way he gets resigned.
Production needs to get better but he looks great out there. Perfectly capable of keeping up with/against top line players and no hesitancy to drive to the net or corners and play a game of great need. Once he has time to gel in a new system he might be our top middle class asset, especially in the playoffs - I'm more confident with him going down the stretch than Hyman or Bunting. If for some reason not, his contract ends this season. Perfect addition at this time and hope it works out.
He's switched up the core 4 a bunch. The issue is that there's a group of fans that don't like that Matthews-Marner and Tavares-Nylander is the more optimal combination.
It is right now because Matthews and Nylander are driving their own lines. Otherwise if you pair those two up given how the rest of the forwards are playing/scoring, we’d be a one line team.
If you want to be technical of course we wouldn’t be a one line team, having Tavares and Marner together can be almost any other teams first line but given how Marner has played this season he’s been very underwhelming and hasn’t produced much offensively. Tavares has looked more engaged and faster out there but I think a lot of his points are from the powerplay or from Nylander just being on another level this season. If you remove Nylander away from Tavares and put a struggling player in Marner next two him that line might be a shit show at the moment until Marner and Bertuzzi get out of the funk offensively they’re in. Regardless at the moment it’s best to keep Matthews and Nylander separated due to both being forces out there and giving us two lines that the other team really has to focus on.
Oscar Peterson
Registered User
- Jun 27, 2015
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Bertuzzi looked a little better on line 2, but I can't say I'm impressed so far. Can't say I had ever watched any Detroit games except when we would play them so I didn't really have a strong read on Bert. Am I the only one who thinks his skating looks rather poor, like he's always a little off balance? He seems to have a decent nose for the game but I guess I don't like how he's always gliding around out there with one hand on the stick lol
Hope he figures it out soon. He was a big deadline addition for Boston last year so I know there's better hockey in him
Hope he figures it out soon. He was a big deadline addition for Boston last year so I know there's better hockey in him
Dion TheFluff
Registered User
- Jun 22, 2015
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well, on the bright side, we'll be able to use his cap to cover Nylanders extension plus an upgrade on Brodie. Guy has been a flop here so far. Seems to struggle in a structured system and has had a really hard time finding flow regardless of what line he's playing on.
thewave
Toronto Maple Leafs Toy Co.
- Jun 17, 2011
- 44,229
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Not a bad player but definitely nowhere close to a Nylander-level player.
I’d bring him back for 4M or so, but I’d assume he’s going to cost much more than that and cash out.
Willy definitely gets priority.
I’d bring him back for 4M or so, but I’d assume he’s going to cost much more than that and cash out.
Willy definitely gets priority.
CabanaBoy5
Registered User
You're not the only one. He looks off balance quite a bit and seems jittery when the puck is on his stick. He doesn't seem to be composed. Tbh, I expected more. But, it's only been 6 games, let's give him at least 10 to see what we have. Inevitably, he will be judged by his playoff contributions.
All he was able to get this past off-season was a 1 year 5 million dollar deal after being real hot for the Bruins in the playoffs… Unless his game takes off and he ends up getting 70+ points I don’t think he’s getting much more than what he’s making right now. If anything it’ll be similar dollar figure with term which he should definitely take given his injury history.
Tavares-Marner and Matthews-Nylander would also create two elite 1st lines, but the current combinations are more optimal. It's really that simple.
Nick Kypreos: The Maple Leafs need to solve their chemistry problem. And it starts at the top line
When the Leafs signed Bertuzzi, it looked like the high-end player that’s been missing alongside Matthews and Marner. It hasn’t worked out so far.
www.thestar.com
Bertuzzi has a reputation for going hard to the net with energy and aggression. He’s a skilled player who can also answer to the likes of Matthew Tkachuk and Corey Perry in the post-season. He excelled in Detroit by opening up passing lanes, giving and receiving pucks from difficult places and working hard to generate scoring chances. He is a bigger, heavier version of Michael Bunting, with a higher ceiling.
Bunting had 112 points in two seasons with the Leafs, but they decided to let him walk to Carolina in free agency and signed Bertuzzi to take his spot. It seemed like a great idea, until it wasn’t.
Since the first pre-season game, Bertuzzi, Marner and Matthews could barely string three passes together. The trio was advertised as the unstoppable force the Leafs were searching for but the chemistry just hasn’t worked out. Now three weeks into the season, Bertuzzi has fallen to the second line while Calle Järnkrok steps into the top spot.
Maybe the first line’s problems are just a sign of the times.
Big lines don’t produce at the same rate as they did in the pre-salary cap era. The closest the NHL has come to an old school top line recently was the “Perfection Line” in Boston with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. They were amazing to watch until the coaches thought the second line needed some love. So they took “Pasta” away and broke up the band.
With such pay disparities between first and fourth lines, from $13-million (U.S.) contracts to $750K, coaches are often left with little support down the rest of the lineup. Those issues are even more challenging for the Leafs since they decided to spend half their salary cap on Matthews, Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander.
It’s why in the past, they’ve thrown left wingers on minimum salaries like Joe Thornton and Denis Malgin on the top line and hoped they stuck.
But Bertuzzi is not on a minimum deal, and that’s what makes his struggles (even looking beyond the three points, including just one at five-on-five, in nine games) all the more disappointing. He was brought in to serve a specific purpose, even if it’s only for one year until Matthew Knies is ready to assume the role.
While many will be quick to blame Bertuzzi, all three players should take their fair share of blame for not gelling as the season rolls into November.
There’s no doubt that Bertuzzi hasn’t yet shown the ability to read and react at the pace Matthews and Marner have been accustomed to like Bunting did last season. Marner, meanwhile, has never been known for his quick starts, and this season is no exception.
And Matthews? He still needs to get a better understanding of the great responsibility a No. 1 centreman historically holds in the NHL — and it’s not just to earn individual awards.
The job is simple: make your linemates better.
