'That's Definitely Something I'm Open To': Will Tyler Bertuzzi Re-Sign With the Maple Leafs?
The Toronto Maple Leafs head into the summer with some decisions to make on their pending free agents and perhaps the biggest decision of all of them will be if they bring back Tyler Bertuzzi.
"That's definitely something I'm open to," Bertuzzi said on locker clean-out day on Monday. "I really enjoyed myself this year. Coming into a new place, especially Toronto, it's not easy. It took me a little bit on the ice to get going. But off the ice, the guys were great. Everything was top-notch. Me and my family really enjoyed our time here."
The 6-foot-2 forward signed a one-year deal with the Maple Leafs last season at $5.5 million and he scored 21 goals and 22 assists in 80 games. He struggled out of the gate to find the right mix on the top line alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. He eventually found his way back there toward the end of the season, but this time on a line with Matthews and Max Domi.
It's believed Bertuzzi was looking for something more long-term last time around before signing a one-year pact with Toronto. Re-signing Bertuzzi to some term would make sense, especially if the club elects to move on from Mitch Marner before the player's contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The Maple Leafs were eliminated by Bertuzzi's former team, the Boston Bruins in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
"I thought we were a better team for a lot of it. But that's playoffs. It's so close too, the margin of error. And obviously an overtime loss. So close. We were right there," Bertuzzi lamented." There's no excuses. We didn't win. We didn't move on. But we battled our hardest."
Bertuzzi finished in a tie for the team lead in playoff points with four (one goal, three assists). He brings a net-front presence that would be difficult to replace. But as an unrestricted free agent, Bertuzzi can sign anywhere he likes once July 1 comes around.
Bertuzzi was one of Leafs GM Brad Treliving's first big swings just over a month after he took over the position following the departure of Kyle Dubas. Along with Max Domi, Bertuzzi may have been one of Treliving's biggest wins, but it wasn't looking that way when the forward had just six goals through the first four months of the season.
It's going to be up to Bertuzzi if he ends up staying and what dollar and term figure makes sense. But playing alongside Matthews could be the biggest draw for the Sudbury native.
"A great human being. Really good leader on the ice," Bertuzzi said of Matthews.. I kind of knew a little bit. But obviously the 200-foot game, just being very good defensively and scoring at the rate he does. There's not many players in this league, if any, that can do it all like him."
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