Report: Maple Leafs, Tyler Bertuzzi Begin Contract Negotiations
With less than a month until free agency opens, the Toronto Maple Leafs appear interested in bringing back forward Tyler Bertuzzi for another season in blue and white.
The 29-year-old, scheduled to hit the open market on July 1st, is one of 10 players from last season’s team set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. However, both sides have reportedly opened extension talks recently, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.
Pagnotta added in his report that contract negotiations are in the early stages, and it’s unclear whether they’ll materialize into a new deal for the Sudbury, ON native.
Bertuzzi bet on himself last off-season, inking a one-year contract worth $5.5 million with Toronto after turning down multi-year offers that included a lower average annual value. He hoped that playing alongside All-Stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in a top-six role would help increase his free-agent stock a second time around.
The 6-foot-1 winger didn’t enjoy a strong start however, struggling to just five goals and nine points over his first 27 games. But he recovered the rest of the way, scoring 16 goals and 34 points over his final 53 games, nearly doubling his shooting percentage to 15.8 percent during that span.
Overall, Bertuzzi logged a career-high 80 games played, adding some much-needed physicality and toughness to the Maple Leafs’ lineup, posting 98 hits and 44 blocked shots – also career-highs.
While Toronto’s scoring dried up in the playoffs, the left-handed forward was amongst the club’s leading offensive contributors, finishing tied for the team lead in points with four. His lone goal of the post-season came in Game 3 versus the Boston Bruins, albeit in a 4-2 losing effort.
The Maple Leafs are projected to feature approximately $18.5 million in cap space this summer, according to Cap Friendly. But general manager Brad Treliving will have his work cut out for him, as he’ll have several holes to fill up front, on the blue line and in net.
Toronto has two notable forwards set to become UFAs: Bertuzzi and Max Domi, who, like his counterpart, bet on himself by agreeing to a one-year deal last summer. And they’ll be joined by three RFA forwards: Nicholas Robertson, Connor Dewar and Noah Gregor.
Prior to joining the Maple Leafs, Bertuzzi spent the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings, posting 88 goals and 202 points over 305 career games. He also notched three 20-goal seasons, including a 30-goal campaign in 2021-22.
The former Guelph Storm product, a second-round selection by Detroit in 2013, was sent to the Boston Bruins ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, fetching two draft picks (a 2024 first-rounder, and a 2025 fourth-rounder) in return.
It took some time for Bertuzzi to adjust to his new surroundings, failing to register more than four goals in 21 regular-season games down the stretch. But his impact in Boston’s opening-round matchup versus the Florida Panthers was significant, leading all Bruins skaters in goals (five) and finishing tied for first in points (10).
That playoff success made him one of the more appealing free-agent forwards available a summer ago. While he ultimately settled for a one-year deal, perhaps coming off a fourth career 20-goal season will lead to additional term this time around – whether that’s as a Maple Leaf or not.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Simba Mai. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.