The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Tyler Bertuzzi to a one-year contract carrying a $5.5 million cap hit, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported Sunday afternoon.
Bertuzzi, 28, split the 2022–23 regular season between the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins, collecting eight goals and 30 points in 50 games. He added five goals and 10 points in seven games with the Bruins in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Maple Leafs have been one of the National Hockey League’s most active teams thus far in the 2023 UFA period, having also added defenseman John Klingberg and forward Ryan Reaves to the fold. They also re-signed pending UFA forward David Kampf to a four-year contract.
The Red Wings traded Bertuzzi to the Bruins in exchange for two draft picks (a 2024 first and a 2025 fourth) ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. The Sudbury product commanded a $4.75 million salary on his previous two-year deal with Detroit, which he signed in 2021.
Bertuzzi’s contract reportedly includes a full no-movement clause.
Detroit originally selected Bertuzzi, the nephew of former NHL star Todd Bertuzzi, in the second round (No. 58 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
The six-foot-one left wing made his NHL debut with the Red Wings in the 2016–17 season and established himself as a full-timer with the club two years later, scoring 21 goals and 47 points in 2018–19.
Bertuzzi reached the 30-goal plateau and scored 62 points in just 68 games with the Red Wings in the 2021–22 season, during which he missed numerous games due to his unvaccinated status.
With the Bruins, Bertuzzi made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut and emerged as a difference-maker, although the Bruins blew a 3–1 series lead and ultimately lost to the Florida Panthers in the first round.
Through 326 career NHL games over parts of seven NHL seasons with the Red Wings and Bruins, Bertuzzi has collected 92 goals and 218 points.
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