3. Tyler Bertuzzi
Alright, let's get some things straight here. Tyler Bertuzzi is having dreadful season for the Blackhawks. This signing looks completely awful. The signing was strange at the start, but his production makes it much worse. Bertuzzi has 11 points in 28 games. Something just isn't working. Can he turn it around?
Bertuzzi seems like a primed change-of-scenery candidate. He's a hard-nosed player who could score 20+ goals, and he even has a 30-goal season under his belt. Nobody is confusing him with Taylor Hall, but he feels like a player who would seamlessly fit onto the Nico Hischier-Timo Meier line. Just think about how his style of play with the Toronto Maple Leafs would fit with the Devils, especially this new style of aggressive forecheck leading to chances the other way.
The problem here is the risk. The Devils can't afford to make a move on that contract,and it has three years left after this one. He signed a four-year, $22 million contract this offseason. Putting $5.5 million on the salary cap when it could go up past $90 million isn't the death knell it used to be, but one shouldn't take on all of the risk.
The Devils should demand the Blackhawks eat a portion of that contract. Would it work without the Hawks eating half of that deal? It would likely kill it, because nobody wants to eat salary for four years. If it doesn't happen, we don't see the deal happening. Would the Devils risk it for $3 million per season? We could see that. Is there any world where they eat the entire contract? Absolutey not.