Maple Leafs winger Tyler Bertuzzi is listed as a game-time decision for their game tonight against Edmonton due to illness, notes TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Bertuzzi will ultimately decide at game time if he will be good enough to go. Bertuzzi wasn’t able to secure a long-term deal last summer, ultimately settling for a one-year, $5.5MM agreement with the hopes of having a big year to improve his value. However, the 29-year-old has had a quiet first season with Toronto, notching 15 goals and 19 assists in 67 games, his lowest point-per-game average since his rookie year back in 2017-18.
More from the East:
- The Devils are expected to welcome defenseman John Marino back to the lineup tonight, relays team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has missed the last week with an upper-body injury. Marino has fared better in his second season with New Jersey, putting up 23 points in 65 games so far while logging over 21 minutes a night. Based on the morning skate, they won’t waste any time putting him back into a key role as he’s projected to play on the top pairing versus Ottawa.
- Canadiens prospect Blake Biondi has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, reports Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune. The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick back in 2020 (109th overall) and has spent the last four seasons at Minnesota-Duluth. Biondi had 19 points in 34 games this season and could have become a free agent in mid-August if he hadn’t signed an entry-level deal with Montreal by then. Instead, he’ll push that deadline back by a year and play his bonus season at a new school in the hopes of finishing up strong.