Tyler Bertuzzi signs with Toronto on a one-year deal

It didn't take long for Tyler Bertuzzi to find his next destination on the open market. 

After the dust of July 1 settled around the league, Bertuzzi and the Toronto Maple Leafs inked a one-year deal with a $5.5 million cap hit. The contract carries a full no-move clause, a base salary of $775,000 and a maximum signing bonus of $4.725 million (all up front), equaling the $5.5 million total AAV. 

Bertuzzi was an instant hit with the Bruins, particularly on a line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak in addition to looking solid with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. He was a key cog in front of the net on the power play as well. 

After a few games to adjust, the soon-to-be 29-year-old finished the regular season with 16 points (4g, 12a) in 21 games with the Bruins, finishing the season on the whole with 30 points (8g, 22a) in 50 games. He found another level in the playoffs, tying the team lead with 10 points (5g, 5a). 

As much as Boston wanted to strike a deal with the skilled agitator, Don Sweeney never sounded optimistic a deal would work out. 

"Probably all the factors," Sweeney said Saturday of what the biggest hold-up with negotiations was. "The term that he has rightfully probably earned, the AAV that he’s seeking and what other teams are in position to provide that we probably weren’t, unless I made another big move and again, he’s going to land in a really good spot for him and his family and we wish him luck. He was a great piece of our puzzle and dearly would like to have gone down the path to extend him."

AFP Analytics projected him to earn a six-year deal with a $5.261 million cap hit, while The Athletic had him coming in at four years and $5.4 million, per. 

Some thoughts...

Obviously, this deal is a far cry from the projections and what we thought his market was. I don't think anyone, including Bertuzzi, was expecting this to be the type of deal he would have gotten on the open market. 

He has a young family. On breakup day, it sounded like he wanted long-term security. 

Of course, the Bruins could have done a one-year deal to kick the can to next offseason when they have plenty of breathing room. They just weren't expecting him to settle for one year. 

Say Boston was able to go down the road of the one-year deal with him. It's safe to assume James van Riemsdyk is not signed on Saturday. Take away JVR's $1 million, and the B's still remain in the $7 million neighborhood in terms of cap space. More would have needed to be done to fit Bertuzzi, the other signees Boston made and the RFAs like Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic and Jakob Lauko. 

On needing more to be done, don't expect that to have been a Linus Ullmark deal. Sweeney made it clear that they are sticking with the tandem, considering it will need to be a major strength: "We are excited about having [Swayman] and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure. We feel very comfortable and want to take another step." 

Could it have been Matt Grzelcyk or another defenseman? Not so fast. The Bruins need their blue line to be a strength, too, and Sweeney was none too pleased addressing what he termed "disrespectful" speculation surrounding the Charlestown kid, "We feel, as I referenced earlier, he plays a big part of a lot of success in the regular season and he will be a lot of success going forward and is very comfortable within our lineup.” 

Nevertheless, if they felt they truly could have re-signed Bertuzzi, I'm sure there would have been an ancillary move. Whether or not Sweeney's words on Ullmark and Grzlecyk are true at face value, is unclear. Whether or not it would have included either player will never be known. Although, the Bruins would be sure to be leaving value on the table in any trade involving those two. Teams aren't lining up to help each other, and even if they're good players, no one would make it easy on Boston in a deal. 

All that to say, the way I read this is Bertuzzi overplayed his hand. 

Between Sweeney's comments and Bertuzzi in all likelihood preferring the security, the latter might have hit the market expecting to land the long-term, big-money deal he wanted and deserved. 

But the league is so capped-out, and most contenders are right up against it. With the door now closed in Boston after what transpired on Saturday and it quickly appearing the long-term deal would not be on the table, Bertuzzi chose to bet on himself for a year. 

It could work out in a big way for him, though. If he (most importantly) stays healthy and has a good year and another good playoff, he'll have the chance to seriously cash in when the cap expectedly surges in 2024. 

Maybe neither he nor Boston simply circled back on a one-year deal. Maybe it's as simple as he just didn't want to re-up in Boston, even if he said all the right things at the start of May. 

All of that is, of course, educated guessing on my part. What we know for sure: a divisional rival is better while the Bruins appear to be headed for a bridge year, even if they'll still be competitive and in the mix for a playoff spot. 

Start the speculation about Boston being front and center once again if he makes it to the market next summer. Anything's possible, right?