Bruins GM reacts to Tyler Bertuzzi walking away from Boston to sign with the Leafs
Most of the discussion in Toronto following the quartet of Leafs signings at the beginning of free agency has been surrounding Max Domi, son of Leafs legend Tie Domi, and for good reason. Max provides the Leafs with not only some nostalgia value linked to him through his dad, but he is also a very interesting addition in his own right, with his versatility to be able to play both wing and center and bring some "snot" to the Leafs' lineup, as Brad Treliving had put it last week.
However, beyond the Domi signing, there was another, arguably more impactful signing in Tyler Bertuzzi, who is locked in through this season at a $5.5M cap hit. Bertuzzi is a guy who brings even more of that piss and vinegar to the lineup in Toronto and, if he can remain healthy, he can also do some damage on the scoresheet for the Leafs.
Some were surprised that the Leafs were actually able to sign Bertuzzi, given that the term they were able to offer was short or non-existent, due to the impending Matthews and Nylander extensions and not knowing what the landscape will look like from a salary cap perspective over the next few seasons. However, despite the fact that Bertuzzi was interested in signing for term, he ended up taking the 1-year "show me" deal in Toronto to try to boost his value ahead of next summer, when the cap is expected to jump significantly.
This weekend, Bruins GM Don Sweeney was asked point blank whether or not he was surprised by Bertuzzi's willingness to take a shorter-term deal in Toronto, rather than being patient and allowing the Bruins to complete some other work before committing to him on an extension in Boston, which likely would have been longer-term at a lower AAV. Here's what Sweeney had to say about whether or not Bertuzzi's decision surprised him:
"Probably a little bit... There were players looking for longer-term deals and my discussions were focused around that. Some teams were in a good position to be able to absorb shorter-term deals at the right numbers and we had to go and fill our gaps. We made a move to open up the space we needed to. It would have required us to be even more proactive and do deals that we explored, but we didn't feel the value was there to open up even more space or to be overly aggressive to do a deal and then to have to make a move as a result of that." - Bruins GM Don Sweeney on Tyler Bertuzzi taking a short-term deal in Toronto
I was just as shocked as anyone when Bertuzzi signed a 1-year deal in Toronto. I've been among the cohort of Leaf fans who have wanted Bertuzzi to land in Toronto for a number of years, so when he finally signed his deal, I was pleasantly surprised. Term aside, I feel as though his $5.5M cap hit is fair. Would I have liked to have seen 3 or 4 years as the term? Absolutely, but I still enjoy the fact that we'll get to see Bertuzzi in a Leafs sweater for this year at the very least.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 11 | 499 ANSWERS Bruins GM reacts to Tyler Bertuzzi walking away from Boston to sign with the Leafs How do you feel about the Tyler Bertuzzi deal in Toronto? | ||
| Great AAV, not enough term | 181 | 36.3 % |
| I'm fine with the deal as is | 240 | 48.1 % |
| I'm fine with the term, but needed a lower AAV | 41 | 8.2 % |
| Don't like the deal | 37 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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