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The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing significant challenges ahead of free agency on July 1. That’s related to negotiating contract extensions for forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, appearing on “The Leafs Nation” podcast, the Leafs are “nervous” about the term Domi and Bertuzzi could request to the franchise. Both players will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
“The one thing is, I know Domi wants some term,” Friedman said on June 12. “Look, I think Max Domi is a perfect Leaf. He’s going to be happy to be here for a long time.
“I think Toronto is nervous of term. I think if they can find a term number that makes sense to both sides, then I think it happens.”
Adding to that Domi report, Friedman touched on Beruzzi’s particular situation. Friedman reported that Bertuzzi will prioritize term over salary.
“Bertuzzi is the interesting one,” Friedman said. “I also think they want to bring him back. But again, I think the Leafs are trying to be really careful about term. That’s one thing that I was warned–if they lose some of these players, it’s probably going be because of term more than AAV.”
Leafs’ Domi and Bertuzzi Excelled on One-Year Deals
The Leafs signed the duo of Domi and Bertuzzi to one-year contracts in the summer of 2023. Bertuzzi signed a $5.5 million deal and Domi agreed to a $3 million contract. Both contracts will expire on July 1, making both players unrestricted free agents.
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, reporting on May 24, there is “mutual interest” between the Leafs and the two players in signing contract extensions.
“There’s mutual interest in Bertuzzi returning to the Leafs, but the team is juggling a few things so it’s not clear if it gets done,” LeBrun wrote.
Bertuzzi scored 21 goals and tallied 43 points in 80 regular-season games in 2024. He contributed an additional 4 points in 7 playoff games.
Domi completed a 9-goal, 47-point season in 2024 adding 1 goal and 4 points in seven postseason games between April and May.
CapFriendly projects the Maple Leafs to have almost $19 million of cap space entering the offseason. However, the franchise only has 16 players under contract on their NHL roster.
Leafs’ Craig Berube Could Decide Who Returns to Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering a new era with hopes of getting over the postseason hump. That’s one of the reasons for hiring Craig Berube as their new head coach.
The Leafs announced the news on Friday, May 17 as Berube became the 32nd coach in Toronto’s history, according to the official statement released by the organization.
Toronto fired former head coach (and current coach of the New Jersey Devils) Sheldon Keefe releasing an official statement on May 9.
Whether or not Domi and Bertuzzi return to the Leafs will most probably depend on Berube’s roster construction and how they fit his plans.
According to LeBrun’s and Freidman’s reports, the Leafs are interested in bringing both players back. Adding more credence to that information, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported similar intel on June 1.
“It’s still very early in the process to project where this will go, but the #LeafsForever have started contract discussions with pending UFA winger Tyler Bertuzzi,” Pagnotta wrote.
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