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Maple Leafs: Predicting Tyler Bertuzzi’s Next Contract

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jesse Courville-Lynch | Last updated 3/30/24

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be focused on making a deep playoff run this season after a strong 2023-24 campaign. They made their intentions known at the 2024 Trade Deadline with the acquisitions of Ilya Lyubushkin, Connor Dewar, and Joel Edmundson as the team proved they were ready to try and go all in. While those three acquisitions may not move the needle much, the Maple Leafs have a lot of depth in their lineup and could surprise many hockey fans around the NHL. Before the 2023-24 season started, the Maple Leafs decided to sign forward Tyler Bertuzzi to a one-year contract worth $5.5 million, and he has been an interesting addition.

While the Maple Leafs aren’t acting upon it just yet, they will soon have to shift their focus to deciding whether to re-sign Bertuzzi. While he may have initially signed a one-year deal with hopes of earning more money on a long-term contract this offseason, as the salary cap goes up, his underwhelming offensive production in 2023-24 hasn’t helped his case by any means. The Maple Leafs have roughly $22.3 million to spend this offseason to re-sign all of their pending free agents and improve their lineup depth for a strong 2024-25 run.

The Maple Leafs have plenty of pending unrestricted free agents, including Matt Murray, Edmundson, Lyubushkin, T.J. Brodie, Martin Jones, Mark Giordano, and Dylan Gambrell, as well as a few restricted free agents they need to try to re-sign with that budget. While Bertuzzi is a stronger asset than most of those names, he still may end up pricing himself out of Toronto if his asking price is too high this offseason.

At 29 years old, Bertuzzi is a solid two-way player and has found his confidence with the Maple Leafs recently, but his start to the campaign was not strong at all. Coming off of a 30-point season through 50 games split between the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins last season, there was hope Bertuzzi could find his game with the Maple Leafs out of the gate and get back to his ideal form similar to his 2021-22 campaign, where he put up 62 points through 68 games. Either way, it seems Bertuzzi might have to settle for a lesser contract, and the risk he took signing a one-year deal instead of a long-term one hurt him financially.

What Does Bertuzzi’s Next Contract Look Like?

As I mentioned in my previous article, which looks at what Max Domi could make on his next contract, I would guess Bertuzzi makes around the same, if not a bit less. I predicted Domi could get a short-term deal worth $4 million – $4.5 million, and I think Bertuzzi could get a similar length deal for $3.75 million – $4.25 million per season. If Bertuzzi hits the open market and has other teams bidding for him, though, he may be able to play it right and earn a contract north of $5 million per season.

Bertuzzi is a strong player, but he’s having a tough season adjusting to the Maple Leafs. While he has since found his game and finds himself contributing offensively with more ice time and confidence from his coaches, he still may not be able to get that massive deal he could be looking for. Although, it would be nice to bring Bertuzzi back if the price is right and he is willing to accept an affordable contract. Hopefully, the Maple Leafs can get an extension worked out with Bertuzzi for the right price and have enough money to bolster their roster even more this offseason.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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