The Toronto Maple Leafs added prized free agent Tyler Bertuzzi to their roster Sunday, inking him to a 1 year/$5.5M contract.
Bertuzzi posted 30pts (8G, 22A) across 50 contests last season, splitting time between the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. The 28 year old forward would go on to add 10pts (5G,5A) in 7 postseason appearances with Bruins as well.
A former 2nd round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Bertuzzi can be deployed in a variety of situations, including the powerplay, while adding some sandpaper to the Leafs top six forward group. Averaging over a hit per game in 2022-23, the Sudbury native has a nose for the front of the net, and will likely ride shotgun on a line centred by either Auston Matthews or John Tavares.
Bertuzzi is one season removed from a career year which saw him post 30G and 32A for 62pts with the Winged Wheel. If he’s able to replicate, or even exceed, those numbers, then he’ll be in line for a large pay day in the summer of 2024. A period in which the salary cap is currently projected to increase by roughly $4M.
That timeline also lines up with Matthews, William Nylander, TJ Brodie, John Klingberg, Sam Lafferty, Mark Giordano, and Matt Murray also hitting free agency as well. While the Leafs had made it clear that signing Matthews to a long term deal is at the top of their priority list, the manner in which their contracts are lining up projects to give them ample room for negotiations to get a long term deal done.
   That being said, Bertuzzi’s signing now puts the team just north of $5M over the salary cap, meaning that another move will have to happen in order for the team to become cap compliant.Â
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Ken Lund. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.