SIMMONS SAYS: Forecasts of a Tyler Bertuzzi fit in Toronto have not played out

When the Maple Leafs signed Tyler Bertuzzi on the second day of free agency last summer, one of the people involved in his draft and development with the Red Wings predicted it to be a great fit for Toronto. “If you play him with (Auston) Matthews and (Mitch) Marner or with (John) Tavares and (William) Nylander, I think he’ll score 30 goals,” the Detroit voice said. “He’ll make that team better. He’ll go to the hard places on the ice. He’ll bring an element they don’t have. “Look at what he did with Boston in the playoffs (10 points in seven games). I think he’ll do the same thing with the Leafs.” That was said in July. This is February. Bertuzzi has been a rather dreadful addition to the Leafs. He had just six goals on the season heading into Saturday night. He hasn’t been a physical factor of any real kind. He hasn’t really fit in considering the grand opportunities he has had to play with either Matthews or Tavares. In no way has he justified the $5 million he is being paid to contribute. It’s not like this is a slump for Bertuzzi: This has been the entire season. No goals in his past 16 games. One in his past 30 games. If you break his season down to five units of 10 games each, not one of them is impressive or indicative of Bertuzzi becoming the player the Leafs believed they were getting last July. Herein is the problem with the intermingling of bad contracts and tight salary caps: There is almost no answer to the Bertuzzi mess, no room to wiggle. He hasn’t shown himself to be a top-six forward with the Leafs and he is paid way too much — and is not necessarily defensively responsible enough to play bottom six. For now, the Leafs are caught. Damned if they play him. Damned if they don’t. Their highest-paid signing of the off-season both lost and unproductive. THIS AND THAT Still not a word from Gary Bettman, the NHL or MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum about the avid pro-Palestinian supporter singing the national anthem at last weekend’s NHL all-star game. Knowing Bettman for as long as I have and knowing Tanenbaum for just as long, I imagine they would have been horrified by any connection to this and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for their conversation when they spoke after the successful all-star weekend … I’ll never forget the image of general manager Steve Yzerman, just an hour or so after Team Canada had won gold in dominant fashion at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. Yzerman didn’t look happy or celebratory. It was too soon. That’s how much pressure there is in taking on the win-or-nothing job for being Team Canada’s general manager. That day, Yzerman said he would never do the job again. It just took too much out of him … The Yzerman circumstance is worth keeping in mind before Canada names a GM for next year’s 4 Nations Face-off tournament and the Olympics the following year. Doug Armstrong of St. Louis was supposed to be Team Canada GM for the 2018 Games, which the NHL cancelled on. He’d probably like to be back, although he is aware of changes with Hockey Canada and what that might mean. Tampa’s Jon Cooper still wants to coach in the Olympics and maybe more than once. If Armstrong isn’t interested in being GM or Hockey Canada isn’t interested in him, there is no shortage of candidates: Jimmy Rutherford in Vancouver; Joe Sakic in Colorado and Kelly McCrimmon in Vegas. I don’t mention Ken Holland, who has been involved with Olympic teams before, because I expect him to be retired by 2026 … Bill Guerin was named GM of Team USA, even with the possibility of his Minnesota Wild missing the playoffs this year and maybe even next year. I thought Rangers GM Chris Drury would get the post, considering the lofty position of his NHL team. If he wants the job, Mike Sullivan has to be the head coach, doesn’t he? Some thoughts on Patrick Mahomes and the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs as Super Bowl Sunday arrives.