Insider provides an update on negotiations between the Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period revealed this afternoon that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi are continuing to make progress on a contract extension.
The Leafs and Bertuzzi have been quietly hammering away at a possible contract extension for the 29-year-old over the past couple of weeks. While there is still work to be done, Pagnotta has revealed that the two sides "continue to work at it" to lock up the pending free agent before he can test the open market on July first.
Bertuzzi was signed by the Leafs last off-season to a 1-year, $5M deal and got off to a slow start in the blue and white but found his groove in the second half of the season. He ended up with 21 goals and 43 points through 80 games for the Leafs and had four points in seven playoff games. When the Leafs signed Bertuzzi to the one-year deal, reports surfaced that the two sides had initially had discussions about a long-term deal, but due to the uncertainty of the salary cap, the Leafs felt a short-term deal was better and Bertuzzi obliged.
With the increased cap and the Leafs having almost $20M in cap space, the two sides are looking to get something done, with term possibly being the sticking point as Elliotte Friedman pointed out last week, it is likely why these negotiations have dragged out as long as they have.
Source: Hockey Reference
Tyler Bertuzzi Career Stats
| POLL | ||
JUIN 17 | 325 ANSWERS Insider provides an update on negotiations between the Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi What length of extension are you comfortable giving Bertuzzi? | ||
| 1-2 years | 102 | 31.4 % |
| 3-4 years | 178 | 54.8 % |
| 5+ | 15 | 4.6 % |
| None | 30 | 9.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
