Addition of Bertuzzi Gives New-Look Maple Leafs Instant Edge, Offense

At the end of the first day of the NHL’s 2023 free agency season on Saturday, the Toronto Maple Leafs had no shortage of critics who saw an exodus of veteran talent, and not very much coming back in return. However, as of Sunday afternoon, the critics weren’t nearly as loud, as the Leafs went out and signed winger Tyler Bertuzzi – one of the very best unrestricted free agents on the open market – to a one-year, $5.5-million contract.

Suddenly, with Bertuzzi’s arrival, the departure of gritty winger Michael Bunting doesn’t sting nearly as much. Bertuzzi is only a couple years removed from scoring 30 goals in 68 games, and although his stint with the Boston Bruins was a short one last season, he showed some jam in the playoffs, with five goals and 10 points in seven games. He can go about his business this season, and if he’s as productive as he’s been in the past, Toronto can figure out a way to sign him for the long term. (This is especially possible if the Leafs have to give up on William Nylander as a long-term solution.)

Now that Bertuzzi is in Blue and White, the Buds have one of the league’s very best lines – Bertuzzi, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner – and the trickle-down effect on the roster means Toronto’s second line will almost certainly consist of Nylander, John Tavares and rookie Matthew Knies. That would leave a third line of winger Calle Jarnkroc, David Kampf and Nick Robertson, and a fourth line of Sam Lafferty, Pontus Holmberg and new signee Ryan Reaves. Not too shabby at all – and who knows, depending on their health status during the season, the Leaf and GM Brad Treliving can go out near the trade deadline and add depth on defense.

All this is to say that, despite the angst and anger of the first day of free agency, the Leafs are better than many, if not most teams in the Atlantic Division. There is no good reason why they cannot secure home-ice advantage in the playoffs. There’s no question there will be tweaks to the lineup – show me a team that isn’t tweaking, and I’ll show you a team that isn’t trying – but Treliving took a difficult salary cap situation and made Toronto a more difficult team to play against.

The Leafs’ next move is likely to be a buyout or trade involving goalie Matt Murray, a veteran who simply doesn’t have the staying power, health-wise, to be leaned on as a key contributor. As we’ve said in this space before, Toronto will be going with a netminding tandem of starter Ilya Samsonov and youngster Joseph Woll, and the savings associated with the dumping of Murray’s contract will provide vital cap space to (a) sign Samsonov to a new contract; and (b) give the Buds a little bit of breathing space under the cap.

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The Leafs’ addition of Bertuzzi – as well as veteran defenseman John Klingberg, who signed a one-year, $4-million contract Saturday – provides a boost to the team on offense. And when the salary cap rises meaningfully at the end of next season, Treliving will have the space to extend Bertuzzi or go in another direction if things don’t work out. The Bertuzzi signing is a low-risk, high-reward gamble, but it takes him away from the division-rival Boston Bruins, and that’s a win in and of itself.

The moral of the story for Leafs fans Sunday? Patience, grasshopper. Patience. Give Treliving some credit – not only for landing Bertuzzi but for walking away from UFA veterans Justin Holl and Alex Kerfoot, which is addition by subtraction. This Toronto team will look and feel notably different in 2023-24, and the way the Buds were smoked by Florida in the second round of this spring’s Stanley Cup playoffs, that’s clearly a good thing.