Leafs announce full details of the Tyler Bertuzzi contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs made one of the biggest splashes of free agency so far on Sunday when they signed feisty winger Tyler Bertuzzi to a 1-year contract worth $5.5M. Some were convinced that Bertuzzi was looking for some term, especially given his injury history, but at the end of the day, Bertuzzi chose to bet on himself and play out a 1-year deal with some elite players in Toronto in hopes of boosting his value for next summer, when the cap is expected to rise significantly.
With the belief out there that there were several teams who were willing to offer Bertuzzi a much longer deal for a bit less money, the fact that Bertuzzi chose to come to Toronto on a one-year deal says something about the Leafs organization. Here, he'll have access to one of the best medical teams in the league, a brighter spotlight with which to showcase his game and a chance to line up next to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and/or William Nylander.
Aside from the allure of the situation he'd be entering into in Toronto, the Leafs also offered Bertuzzi some excellent contract incentives. First, he was given a full no-movement clause, meaning that the Leafs will not be able to trade him unless he waives that NMC. It gives him a all of the leverage in the event that the season is a catastrophe. Bertuzzi would have full control over where he moves to, if he decides to move at all.
Control over your contract is cool and all, but perhaps what was even more alluring was the Leafs' ability to do what other teams couldn't, which was offering Bertuzzi almost ALL of his contract as a signing bonus. Per PuckPedia, Bertuzzi's salary is just $775K, with $4.725M paid out to him immediately on July 2nd. How about that for an incentive to sign on the dotted line?
To be honest, there's not really anything to dislike about this deal from either side. For Bertuzzi, he gets a boat load of cash, a chance to play with elite players, a full NMC and a chance to win a Stanley Cup. For the Leafs, they're getting a player who has been able to produce in the playoffs, the deal has no term at all in case he continues to deal with injury and if he does play, he's one of the feistiest, most disruptive players in the league and will be a nightmare for the opposition on any given night. Nice bit of work by Treliving here.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 3 | 634 ANSWERS Leafs announce full details of the Tyler Bertuzzi contract How do you feel about the Tyler Bertuzzi contract after seeing the full details? | ||
| Love it! | 285 | 45 % |
| I like it, but don't love it | 170 | 26.8 % |
| I'll wait to see him play first | 142 | 22.4 % |
| That money was better spent elsewhere | 37 | 5.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
