Winger Tyler Bertuzzi is one of many pending unrestricted free agents for the Maple Leafs and is also one of their more prominent ones. It had been suggested previously that there was mutual interest in a contract extension and it appears those talks are now underway, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). He added that it’s way too early in the process to determine if the two sides might be able to work out a new deal.
Last summer was an interesting one for the 29-year-old. Even though he was coming off a down year, Bertuzzi was one of the better unrestricted free agents in last year’s class, landing in the top ten in our annual rankings. That appeared to have him set to receive a multi-year agreement (if not a long-term one) and a raise on the $4.75MM AAV he had been playing on.
However, the market he was hoping for never materialized. Rather than accept a multi-year deal at a lower rate, he instead pivoted on the second day of free agency, inking a one-year, $5.5MM pact with Toronto. It looked like his hope was that a key role on a Maple Leafs team that had a strong offensive core could help better position himself to land a long-term agreement on the open market this time around.
Things didn’t go quite as planned, however. Bertuzzi got off to a slow start, notching just nine points in his first 27 games despite holding down a spot in the top six for most of that time. He was able to rebound in the second half, however, finishing up with 21 goals and 20 assists in 80 games before tying for the team lead in playoff points with four.
Bertuzzi is only two years removed from a 30-goal season when he had 30 tallies and 32 assists in 68 games during the 2021-22 season. He also has two other 21-goal campaigns under his belt so there is a reasonable track record of offensive success.
Having said that, the fact he wasn’t able to get back to that 30-goal mark (instead staying closer to his career averages) won’t help his chances of landing a raise and a long-term pact. If Bertuzzi wants some job security in the form of a multi-year agreement, he’s likely going to have to take at least a small discount on the salary side.
Toronto has a little more than $18MM in cap room this summer, per CapFriendly. However, they have to sign a few forwards, several defensemen, and a goalie with that money so while there is some flexibility to make a big signing if they want, they also need to spread that money around. They have next month to figure out if a new deal for Bertuzzi fits in with how they want to allocate their remaining cap room.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I’m surprised Tyler Bertuzzi wants to stay in Toronto & that toxic culture as there was a number of complications this season with him but with Sheldon Keefe gone maybe that changes circumstances.
I actually thought Bertuzzi would want to try to go back to the Boston Bruins if possible as he didn’t want to leave there originally. I guess it is what it is.
Who wouldn’t want to play on Matthew’s line????
Anyone who likes winning – or who dislike paycheque players who pad their own stats
Number of complications? Toxic culture? What the hell are you talking about?!
@Mr. Pessimist — Maybe what @FeeltheThunder could have been referring to with the “toxic culture” reference, was the Toronto media. That has been a topic of conversations over the last few days on interweb radio shows/podcasts, especially after Darnell Nurse’s truculence in his last media scrum. Some are noting that in Toronto, Edmonton, and maybe even Montreal, the description is now “the Leafs media versus the Leafs team”, etc. In other words, some (not just restricted to the three listed above) teams’ media members are becoming more combative with the players they cover. Maybe it’s about toxicity in the locker room. As far as the “number of complications”, I’m not seeing the tie-in there. Hopefully, @FeeltheThunder will read this and either confirm or deny the guesses.
How about other coaches calling keefe and saying “ now you’re coaching in the real nhl “ something is very wrong in toronto and has been for a long time. 1 playoff series win in 20 years and 1 since shanny took over
It’s because they get far less public attention in the States,
It’s a pathetic thing to say. They want to make millions of dollars coaching in anonymity, escaping criticism.
It was a dumb comment derived from jealousy – because every one of those coaches would LOVE to coach in the #1 market of their sport. Toronto media were quick to defend Keefe saying he wouldn’t knowingly say anything bad about Toronto however words matter. Keefe as head coach leads by communication so when you repeat dumb comments it shows a lot about his ability to communicate.
Great point. Coaches of teams in the states never get criticized. I can’t even remember one even getting fired.