Boston Bruins’ Bertuzzi Savors ‘Emotional’ Return To Detroit

It certainly didn’t turn out the way he’d hoped that it would, but Tyler Bertuzzi still savored his first trip to Detroit as a member of the Boston Bruins. The gritty Bertuzzi has fit right in with the Boston Bruins since arriving in trade just ahead of the NHL trade deadline and has an assist in four games along with five shots on net.

Certainly his “greasy” game is appreciated by the coaching staff.

Montgomery to Beers, pre-game, on 985 Sports Hub.

Regarding Bertuzzi:

"He's a grease ball, and I want him in and around the blue paint.":

Beers: "I know you mean that affectionately."

— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) March 12, 2023

The 28-year-old Bertuzzi had five shot attempts and four giveaways in 17:03 of ice time during the Boston Bruins 5-3 loss to the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in a comeback that just fell short, but truly enjoyed a video montage welcoming him back to Detroit after spending all seven of his NHL seasons as a member of the Red Wings.

Thank you, Bert! pic.twitter.com/FxS56wEdYX

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 12, 2023

“It was weird. It was definitely different, emotional,” said Bertuzzi to reporters in Detroit after the game was all over. “It’s good to be back…it was very nice of them to do that for me. That was great. Once the game gets going you forget about everything and you’re just focused on the hockey.”

It had to be an emotional weekend for Bertuzzi playing against his former team in the home-and-home series over the weekend that kicks off a grueling five game road trip this week, but he was taking the right approach headed into both games with a new team, and with unrestricted free agency potentially ahead of him this offseason.

“I’m just focusing on the task at hand. Obviously playing your old team a couple of times is going to be a little different, but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Bertuzzi. “I’m getting a little bit more comfortable every day. The practices help and the games help a lot. It’s going to take a little time, but I’m getting there.”

With the home returns out of the way, the Bertuzzi and the Boston Bruins will now get to focus on the second game of the road swing in Chicago on Tuesday night where there won’t be any video montages welcoming anybody back.