Maple Leafs’ $5.5 Million Forward ‘Priced’ Himself Out Of Toronto: Report

Tyler Bertuzzi will not be returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs after playing one season with the team, according to NHL insider Darren Dreger.

Bertuzzi signed a one-year deal worth $5.5 million deal with the Maple Leafs on July 2, 2023. At the end of the season, there was mutual interest in an extension, but Dreger says Bertuzzi won’t be back as he priced himself out of Toronto.

“Tyler Bertuzzi won’t be returning to the Maple Leafs. His value has out priced Toronto. He will land a deal elsewhere in the 4 year and over $5 mil per territory,” Dreger reported.

Bertuzzi skated in 80 regular season games with the Maple Leafs recording 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points. In the playoffs, he added 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points in 7 games.

Bertuzzi is expected to land a four-year deal worth $5.25 million per season, according to DailyFaceoff.com.

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Bertuzzi Was Interested in Re-Signing With The Maple Leafs

Following the Maple Leafs being eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Bertuzzi said he would be open to re-signing with Toronto.

“That’s definitely something I’m open to. 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,” Bertuzzi said on locker clean-out day, via TheHockeyNews.

Although Bertuzzi was open to re-signing with the Maple Leafs, the two sides could not reach an agreement. Toronto, meanwhile, was also interested in re-signing him, but Treliving said the money had to work.

“But it’s got to work for them and it’s got to work for us,” Treliving said to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “We’ve got, certainly, some issues that we have to address on the roster. There’s a pie and there’s only so much to go around. We’ve got a few guys who are up. And part of this is getting better, too. It’s not just being the same. You’re trying to get better in the process, as well. So we’ll see.”

It appears the money with Bertuzzi did not work out as he’ll become a free agent on July 1, while the Maple Leafs did re-sign Max Domi to a four-year deal on June 30.

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Toronto Enters Offseason With Cap Space

The Maple Leafs are set to enter free agency on July 1 with just over $12 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly, following the re-signing of Domi and Timothy Liljegren.

Toronto currently has just 11 forwards under contract but do have Connor Dewar and Nick Robertson as RFA’s but the latter has requested a trade. They also have six defensemen under contract and are in talks to sign Chris Tanev who they acquired on June 29 to be allowed to talk to him before July 1 to try and sign him.

“We don’t have an agreement yet, so that’s what we’re working on,” Treliving said about Tanev (via Toronto Sun). “We will be in touch with them both. Our cap situation is what our cap situation is. We’ve got some holes to fill, so we’ll keep working on it until we get a positive conclusion or they hit the market.”

The Maple Leafs will also need to sign a goalie as Toronto only has Joseph Woll under contract for next season.

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