After the Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Max Domi to a four-year, $15 million contract a day before the opening of NHL free agency and the club desperately needing to address the blueline and the crease, the return of Tyler Bertuzzi diminished greatly. On the eve of July 1, it was reported Bertuzzi would be heading to the open market after no deal materialized in Toronto.
Seeking a long-term deal elsewhere, Bertuzzi noted in a Zoom call with the organization and media members Friday that he wasn’t initially considering Chicago as a destination in his free agency plans. However, a pivotal phone call from former Leafs forward Nick Foligno changed everything.
“Chicago wasn’t really on my radar,” said Bertuzzi. “The day before free agency, Nick Foligno called me and said that they (Chicago) were interested. I was obviously excited about that and things went on from there.”
Foligno, who played in just 11 games with the Maple Leafs and is now with the Blackhawks, provided insights that helped Bertuzzi envision his future in Chicago. “We just talked about the organization, the city, where to live, and things that are important to me and my family while obviously moving to a new city,” Bertuzzi added. Though the two only played with the Leafs for a lone season, their tenures were in separate years. Instead, their connection stems from their time shared on the Boston Bruins in 2022-23. As we now know, this played a critical factor in bringing Bertuzzi to Chicago, which saw him sign a four-year, $22 million contract with the club.
Following the conclusion of another disappointing postseason run, which saw the Leafs lose in seven games to the Bruins, the 29-year old expressed his interest to run it back in a Toronto uniform, saying, "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."
And general manager Brad Treliving and the Leafs had an interest to work something out as well. Throughout the months of May and June, the two parties “continued to work at it,” but his return was never imminent. Bertuzzi was willing to be flexible to find a deal that worked for both sides, but the deal with the Blackhawks, which sees him earn $5.5 million annually, proved to be too lucrative to pass up.
After betting on himself in the summer of 2023 by signing a one-year, $5.5 million pact with the Leafs, Bertuzzi was looking to cash in with the salary cap seeing its first substantial increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. From the Leafs’ perspective, they didn’t seem willing to offer this type of value or term to retain him, with other areas of the ice needing to be addressed.
Though it virtually wasn't feasible to bring Bertuzzi back when July 1 rolled around, it still leaves the Leafs with a hole to fill upfront. The club prioritized adding to the blueline headlined by Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jani Hakanpa as well as to their goaltending tandem by signing netminder Anthony Stolarz. Offensively, the roster needs tweaking and, for the time being, will miss Bertuzzi’s 21 goals and 22 assists in the regular season as the team continues to find ways to add to their offensive prowess.
