The Chicago Blackhawks are gearing up for Jeff Blashill’s entrance at United Center ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. Connor Bedard and the rest of the young core might not be familiar with what the new head coach will bring to the table, but Tyler Bertuzzi is definitely confident in him.
Bertuzzi has been molded by his years under Blashill on the Detroit Red Wings organization. The 30-year-old forward was drafted by the Red Wings in 2013 and prior to his NHL debut, he joined Blashill’s team on the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL during the 2015 postseason. Afterwards, Blashill was promoted to head coach in Detroit in the summer of 2015, and Bertuzzi would make his debut in the 2016-17 season, again under Blashill’s coaching.
Bertuzzi would go on to be traded to the Boston Bruins in 2023 in hopes of helping the best regular season team in league history hoist the cup, but those dreams were shattered prematurely in the first round of the postseason. Bertuzzi found himself hitting the road once again, and joining the Toronto Maple Leafs on a one-year contract for the 2023-24 campaign. His tenure in Toronto ended with another first round exit and it led to his status quo: entering the second season of his 4-year contract in Chi-town.
Neither Bertuzzi nor Blashill had a smooth-sailing journey, but it’s all led to a reunion in Chicago, where a hungry group of young talents—led by Connor Bedard—is looking to kick down the basement door and crash the NHL’s party. It may be a tall order for Blashill, but if there’s one player who believes in him, it’s the Ontarian kid who broke into the league under his watch and has been through the grind ever since.
Bertuzzi’s statement
“It’s cool to see him get a spot back in the NHL [as a head coach],” Bertuzzi said, per NHL.com. “He did a great job with us in the Red Wings and I’m just looking forward to working with him again. I started with him in the AHL, and that was one of the bigger ones, just the developing and the maturing of my game and just a learning aspect of it. He helped me big time kind of carve out a little career.“
Bertuzzi made sure to give a heads-up to Bedard and company about what Blashill is after so they can make a good first impression when they meet on the ice during training camp.
“He likes to preach simplicity, north-south, play hard and obviously plays will be made when they’re available,” Bertuzzi added. “If you play hard for him, he’s an easy coach to get along with. Obviously you’ll get your chances to make your plays and do all the other things but the three base things are probably work hard, play simple and go out there and do your best. If you make a mistake, do your best to get it back and give it 100%.”
Righting the ship
Bertuzzi is coming off a whirlwind season marked by inconsistency—his play and production came in fits and starts, with frequent swings between peaks and valleys. Perhaps Blashill is exactly what he needs to regain his footing and finally establish his game in Chicago.
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“When he’s behind the bench, he’s a hard coach,” Bertuzzi concluded. “He wants the best for his players. And then off the ice, he’s just a great person. Easy to talk to, he cares about his team’s families and everything about what’s going off the ice, very personable and very easy to get along with. But when it’s time to go, it’s go time.”