*Photo from CLNS Media*
One of the best free agents left is heading north of the border. The Toronto Maple Leafs and LW Tyler Bertuzzi have agreed to a one year, $5.5 million contract, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Maple Leafs have confirmed.
Bertuzzi said of joining the Leafs that "If I was going to do a one-year deal I wanted to go to a team that I thought would have a great chance to win and Toronto is at the top of the list. But it goes back to wanting to win. I got a taste of that in Boston. I had a lot of fun playing playoff hockey so, you know, I want another crack at it."
The contract for Bertuzzi has a $4.725 million signing bonus, with a base salary of only $775,000. He has a full no movement clause in his deal and it allows him to potentially cash in again next year if he has a good season. The Maple Leafs will be his 3rd franchise.
Last season, Bertuzzi played for the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. He scored 8 goals and added 22 assists, posting a -8 rating with an average 16:29 of ice time in 50 regular season games. He scored 5 goals with 5 assists in 7 playoff games.
In 7 NHL seasons, Bertuzzi has only played for the Red Wings and Bruins since debuting in 2016-2017. He has amassed 92 goals and 126 assists, averaging 17:26 of ice time with a -39 rating in 326 regular season games. His 10 points in 7 playoff games last season marked his first year of postseason games.
Bertuzzi said of landing in Canada that "I'm very excited. Kind of closer to home as well. Was born in Sudbury so just down the highway. Excited to be a Leaf. Obviously they've added a few more guys which is great. I'm excited."
The Maple Leafs have added Bertuzzi and John Klingberg to a team looking to bounce back after a second round playoff exit against the Florida Panthers. The team also replaced Kyle Dubas with Brad Treliving in the front office early in the offseason.
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