Bertuzzi is likely to attract interest if he doesn’t extend in Toronto.
Player Overview
Coming off a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Bertuzzi could be poised to test unrestricted free agency for the second year in row.
While Bertuzzi will still gain quite a bit of interest if he does leave Toronto, his production has also seen a bit of a decline over the past two seasons. Across 130 games between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Bertuzzi has scored at a pace of just 18 goals and 46 points per 82.
Still, the winger can also bring intensity and grit to his game, as a hard-to-play-against, top-six winger. In the right situation, he’s shown he can produce at a high rate as well and a 29 years old, he should still be a ways away from any possible decline.
What We Know
- Per Chris Johnston, Bertuzzi is willing to work with the Maple Leafs on a new contract and would like to remain in Toronto.
Comparables
Below, we take a look at what Bertuzzi’s deal could look like at different lengths. For more information on the stats/tables used below, including how the payment rate is calculated, visit the About the Site page.
With Bertuzzi at 29 years old heading into free agency, comparables were generally kept to wingers who were between 27 and 31 years old by Dec. 31 of the first year of their contract.
For readers using mobile view, a side-to-side scrolling option is available for all tables below.
6 YEARS
A six-year deal is unlikely for Bertuzzi, but it’s likely the maximum term he could get.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| *Brendan Gallagher | 29 | 2021 | 33-54 35GP | 26-50 582GP | 30-52 | $6.50M 6 years | $7.02M 6 years | 1.35 | $6.62M 6 years |
| Blake Coleman | 30 | 2021 | 21-46 55GP | 19-34 301GP | 20-40 | $4.90M 6 years | $5.29M 6 years | 1.32 | $6.48M 6 years |
| *Nick Foligno | 28 | 2015 | 41-77 34GP | 17-39 500GP | 29-58 | $5.50M 6 years | $6.78M 6 years | 1.17 | $5.73M 6 years |
| Rickard Rakell | 29 | 2022 | 23-48 70GP | 23-51 569GP | 23-50 | $5.00M 6 years | $5.33M 6 years | 1.07 | $5.22M 6 years |
| *Josh Bailey | 29 | 2018 | 21-88 58GP | 14-43 697GP | 18-66 | $5.00M 6 years | $5.53M 6 years | 0.84 | $4.10M 6 years |
| Bryan Rust | 30 | 2022 | 33-79 60GP | 24-52 424GP | 29-66 | $5.13M 6 years | $5.47M 6 years | 0.83 | $4.06M 6 years |
Based on the available comps, they’d have Bertuzzi between $4M and $6.6M.
That said, on the high end of the comps, Blake Coleman coming recent Stanley Cup wins likely drove up his payment rate. As a result, we can expect Bertuzzi would come in below this range. On the low end though, both Josh Bailey and Bryan Rust signed during/after huge outlier years, where they posted much higher signing year production than their career production, which likely affected their payment rate on the low end.
As a result, the likely range for this length of deal would come from the Nick Foligno and Rickard Rakell deals, between $5.25M and $5.75M. With the Rakell deal as not only a more recent comp, but also based off very similar stats as those of Bertuzzi, the low end of this range is more likely, in the case Bertuzzi did get a six-year deal.
5 YEARS
Five years may be a more realistic term for Bertuzzi’s deal.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| *Jakob Silfverberg | 29 | 2019 | 23-35 56GP | 19-40 475GP | 21-38 | $5.25M 5 years | $5.67M 5 years | 1.49 | $7.31M 5 years |
| James van Riemsdyk | 29 | 2018 | 36-55 81GP | 27-53 609GP | 32-54 | $7.00M 5 years | $7.75M 5 years | 1.43 | $7.03M 5 years |
| Matt Beleskey | 27 | 2015 | 28-40 65GP | 14-28 329GP | 21-34 | $3.80M 5 years | $4.68M 5 years | 1.38 | $6.74M 5 years |
| Michael Frolik | 27 | 2015 | 19-42 82GP | 15-38 512GP | 17-40 | $4.30M 5 years | $5.30M 5 years | 1.32 | $6.49M 5 years |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 27 | 2022 | 21-42 74GP | 16-31 412GP | 19-37 | $4.50M 5 years | $4.80M 5 years | 1.30 | $6.36M 5 years |
| Ivan Barbashev | 28 | 2023 | 16-45 82GP | 16-37 433GP | 16-41 | $5.00M 5 years | $5.27M 5 years | 1.29 | $6.30M 5 years |
| Jordan Eberle | 29 | 2019 | 20-39 78GP | 26-59 666GP | 23-49 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.94M 5 years | 1.21 | $5.94M 5 years |
| Jaden Schwartz | 29 | 2021 | 16-43 40GP | 23-56 560GP | 20-50 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.94M 5 years | 1.19 | $5.82M 5 years |
| Ondrej Palat | 31 | 2022 | 19-52 77GP | 19-55 628GP | 19-54 | $6.00M 5 years | $6.40M 5 years | 1.19 | $5.81M 5 years |
| James Neal | 31 | 2018 | 29-51 71GP | 31-58 703GP | 30-55 | $5.75M 5 years | $6.36M 5 years | 1.16 | $5.67M 5 years |
| *Patric Hornqvist | 31 | 2018 | 27-51 51GP | 25-51 630GP | 26-51 | $5.30M 5 years | $5.87M 5 years | 1.15 | $5.64M 5 years |
| Andre Burakovsky | 27 | 2022 | 23-63 80GP | 19-47 519GP | 21-55 | $5.50M 5 years | $5.87M 5 years | 1.07 | $5.23M 5 years |
With the comps, we also see a range of projections from $5.2M to $7.3M.
With the comps though, we do see that all of the players signing at 30+ years old came in at the lower end of the projections, with the majority of players in their 20s signing for $6M or more. On the high end though, we do also see the comps are from pre-2020.
As a result, the most realistic comps on the table would come between Jaden Schwartz at a $5.8M projection and Artturi Lehkonen at a $6.4M projection. One distinction with the four comps within this range though was that the higher two (Lehkonen/Barbashev) were coming off a year where they produced at a higher rate than their career average, while the lower comps (Eberle/Schwartz) had a down year, in comparison to their career production. As a result, Bertuzzi’s value is likely on the lower end of this range, slightly below $6M on a five-year deal.
4 YEARS
Four years is the most likely term for Bertuzzi’s contract, based on his production and the comps available.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Contract | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| Tomas Tatar | 27 | 2017 | 25-46 82GP | 24-46 345GP | 25-46 | $5.30M 4 years | $6.22M 4 years | 1.35 | $6.62M 4 years |
| Kyle Palmieri | 30 | 2021 | 16-34 51GP | 25-48 612GP | 21-41 | $5.00M 4 years | $5.40M 4 years | 1.32 | $6.47M 4 years |
| Mikael Granlund | 29 | 2021 | 21-43 51GP | 17-53 591GP | 19-48 | $5.00M 4 years | $5.40M 4 years | 1.13 | $5.54M 4 years |
| Mike Hoffman | 27 | 2016 | 30-62 78GP | 26-50 186GP | 28-56 | $5.19M 4 years | $6.26M 4 years | 1.12 | $5.49M 4 years |
| Mathieu Perreault | 29 | 2017 | 10-47 71GP | 18-41 361GP | 18-44 | $4.13M 4 years | $4.85M 4 years | 1.10 | $5.39M 4 years |
| **Mats Zuccarello | 28 | 2015 | 16-51 60GP | 17-52 204GP | 17-52 | $4.50M 4 years | $5.55M 4 years | 1.07 | $5.24M 4 years |
| Gustav Nyquist | 30 | 2019 | 22-61 81GP | 21-50 500GP | 22-56 | $5.50M 4 years | $5.94M 4 years | 1.06 | $5.19M 4 years |
| Mikkel Boedker | 27 | 2016 | 17-52 80GP | 15-40 463GP | 16-46 | $4.00M 4 years | $4.82M 4 years | 1.05 | $5.15M 4 years |
| Taylor Hall | 30 | 2021 | 15-51 53GP | 27-72 680GP | 21-62 | $6.00M 4 years | $6.48M 4 years | 1.04 | $5.10M 4 years |
| **Alex Iafallo | 28 | 2021 | 23-53 40GP | 16-39 267GP | 20-46 | $4.00M 4 years | $4.32M 4 years | 0.94 | $4.61M 4 years |
| Tyler Toffoli | 28 | 2020 | 29-53 68GP | 23-47 525GP | 26-50 | $4.25M 4 years | $4.59M 4 years | 0.92 | $4.51M 4 years |
| Evander Kane | 31 | 2022 | 42-74 43GP | 29-55 812GP | 36-65 | $5.13M 4 years | $5.47M 4 years | 0.84 | $4.12M 4 years |
| Evan Rodrigues | 30 | 2023 | 19-46 69GP | 15-36 385GP | 17-41 | $3.00M 4 years | $3.23M 4 years | 0.79 | $3.87M 4 years |
| Mason Marchment | 27 | 2021 | 27-71 54GP | 18-52 91GP | 23-62 | $4.50M 4 years | $4.86M 4 years | 0.78 | $3.82M 4 years |
| David Perron | 30 | 2018 | 19-77 70GP | 20-50 722GP | 20-64 | $4.00M 4 years | $4.43M 4 years | 0.69 | $3.38M 4 years |
Of the comps, they’d have Bertuzzi between about $3.4M on the low end, up to $6.6M on the high end.
At the low end of the comps though, we do see players who had factors that likely drove down their payment rate. Mason Marchment had extremely limited career experience, while Evander Kane was recently coming off a contract termination. At the same time, there are two outliers from the Tomas Tatar and Kyle Palmieri contracts, which project Bertuzzi at a far higher cap hit than any other deal.
As a result, the likely range would be within the nine comps between the range of the $4.5M projection from the Tyler Toffoli contract, and the $5.5M projection from the Mikael Granlund deal.
3 YEARS
A three-year deal is also possible for Bertuzzi. With the comps, we also see a very defined range of what we can expect Bertuzzi to make at this term.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Cap Hit | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| Frank Vatrano | 28 | 2022 | 21-37 71GP | 21-35 401GP | 21-36 | $3.65M 3 years | $3.89M 3 years | 1.08 | $5.29M 3 years |
| **Marcus Foligno | 30 | 2021 | 15-35 59GP | 11-27 565GP | 13-31 | $3.10M 3 years | $3.35M 3 years | 1.08 | $5.29M 3 years |
| *Tanner Pearson | 29 | 2021 | 15-27 33GP | 19-38 490GP | 17-33 | $3.25M 3 years | $3.51M 3 years | 1.06 | $5.19M 3 years |
| Reilly Smith | 31 | 2022 | 23-56 56GP | 21-50 686GP | 22-53 | $5.00M 3 years | $5.33M 3 years | 1.01 | $4.95M 3 years |
| Evgenii Dadonov | 31 | 2020 | 30-56 69GP | 27-59 280GP | 29-58 | $5.00M 3 years | $5.40M 3 years | 0.93 | $4.56M 3 years |
| Michael Bunting | 27 | 2023 | 23-49 82GP | 25-55 187GP | 24-52 | $4.50M 3 years | $4.74M 3 years | 0.91 | $4.46M 3 years |
| *Ryan Hartman | 30 | 2024 | 21-51 59GP | 17-38 506GP | 19-45 | $4.00M 3 years | $4.00M 3 years | 0.89 | $4.36M 3 years |
All of the comps above would have Bertuzzi between $4.35M and $5.30M on a three-year deal.
Of the comps, one of the more notable ones would be Michael Bunting, who signed with fairly similar production last year. While Bertuzzi did have much more career experience (which could have him up above the $4.45M projection from the payment rate on the Bunting deal), somewhere in the middle of the range of projections, slightly below the $5M mark, could be most likely for Bertuzzi on a three-year deal.
2 YEARS
Bertuzzi has taken a two-year contract before, but it would still represent a fairly short-term deal for the winger, and remains quite unlikely. It would allow Bertuzzi to re-enter the market at 31 years old in 2026, but it’s unlikely he’d get a cap hit high enough to make that worthwhile.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Cap Hit | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| Andreas Athanasiou | 29 | 2023 | 20-40 81GP | 22-42 459GP | 21-41 | $4.25M 2 years | $4.48M 2 years | 1.09 | $5.90M 2 years |
| Marcus Johansson | 29 | 2019 | 18-42 58GP | 17-47 588GP | 18-45 | $4.50M 2 years | $4.86M 2 years | 1.08 | $5.83M 2 years |
| David Perron | 28 | 2016 | 14-42 71GP | 20-48 570GP | 17-45 | $3.75M 2 years | $4.52M 2 years | 1.00 | $5.42M 2 years |
| Tomas Tatar | 31 | 2021 | 16-49 50GP | 23-49 625GP | 20-49 | $4.50M 2 years | $4.86M 2 years | 0.99 | $5.35M 2 years |
| Viktor Olofsson | 27 | 2022 | 23-56 72GP | 24-55 188GP | 24-56 | $4.75M 2 years | $5.07M 2 years | 0.91 | $4.89M 2 years |
| Erik Haula | 30 | 2021 | 14-34 51GP | 17-35 456GP | 16-35 | $2.38M 2 years | $2.57M 2 years | 0.73 | $3.97M 2 years |
| Ryan Dzingel | 27 | 2019 | 27-59 78GP | 20-42 268GP | 24-51 | $3.38M 2 years | $3.65M 2 years | 0.72 | $3.86M 2 years |
| Dominik Kubalik | 27 | 2022 | 16-34 78GP | 25-47 202GP | 21-41 | $2.50M 2 years | $2.67M 2 years | 0.65 | $3.52M 2 years |
| Alexander Barabanov | 28 | 2022 | 12-46 70GP | 12-42 92GP | 12-44 | $2.50M 2 years | $2.67M 2 years | 0.61 | $3.28M 2 years |
Based on the comps, they’d have him anywhere from $3.25M to $5.9M.
On the low end though, Alexander Barabanov and Dominik Kubalik both had limited career experience, as well as lower career production, which likely drove down their payment rate. At the same time though, on the high end of the deals, Andreas Athanasiou was overpaid based on the Chicago Blackhawks having an abundance of cap space, which means Bertuzzi would likely below the $5.9M projection (and by extension, Marcus Johansson’s $5.8M projection). This would leave the expected range between about $3.85M and $5.4M.
There’s a large cap between the remaining comps, from the Dzingel/Haula contracts, and the Olofsson/Tatar/Perron contracts. However, perhaps the most realistic range would be somewhere between those separate sets of deals, between $4M and $5M.
1 YEAR
We saw Bertuzzi take one-year deal last year, but it’s unlikely he’d be willing to go this short on term this time around.
| Player | Age | First Year of Contract | Signing Year G&P/82 | Career G&P/82 | Mid Point | Cap Hit | On $88M Cap | Payment Rate | Projection |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 29 | 2024 | 22-44 80GP | 23-53 406GP | 23-49 | ||||
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 28 | 2023 | 13-49 326GP | 23-55 326GP | 18-52 | $5.50M 1 year | $5.80M 1 year | 1.11 | $5.44M 1 year |
| Mikael Granlund | 28 | 2020 | 22-39 63GP | 17-53 540GP | 20-46 | $3.75M 1 year | $4.05M 1 year | 0.88 | $4.31M 1 year |
| Andreas Athanasiou | 27 | 2021 | 17-40 47GP | 22-42 350GP | 20-41 | $2.70M 1 year | $2.92M 1 year | 0.71 | $3.49M 1 year |
| Max Domi | 27 | 2022 | 13-44 72GP | 17-51 501GP | 15-48 | $3.00M 1 year | $3.20M 1 year | 0.67 | $3.27M 1 year |
| Mike Hoffman | 30 | 2021 | 34-70 69GP | 29-60 493GP | 32-65 | $4.00M 1 year | $4.32M 1 year | 0.66 | $3.26M 1 year |
| Max Domi | 28 | 2023 | 21-57 80GP | 17-52 581GP | 19-55 | $3.00M 1 year | $3.16M 1 year | 0.56 | $2.82M 1 year |
Obviously though, the best comparable for this scenario would be Bertuzzi’s own contract from last year, at a $5.5M cap hit.
At the same time though, Bertuzzi does enter this free agency period with lower production in his signing year than he did last year. So even with a higher cap now at $88M, it’s unlikely Bertuzzi would get a $5.5M cap hit again for any one-year deal, and it could be a little lower based on the drop in production.
Projection
The most likely term for Bertuzzi’s contract would be between three and five years.
| Term | Projected Cap hit | Maximum Cap Hit | Minimum Cap Hit |
| 5 Years | $5.80M | $6.25M | $5.50M |
| 4 Years | $5.00M | $5.50M | $4.50M |
| 3 Years | $4.75M | $5.25M | $4.50M |
A deal at longer than five years would be unexpected for Bertuzzi, but the projection for a six-year contract is below.
| Term | Projected Cap hit | Maximum Cap Hit | Minimum Cap Hit |
| 6 Years | $5.25M | $6.00M | $5.00M |
There’s always the small chance Bertuzzi could take a one or two-year deal again, though this remains unlikely.
| Term | Projected Cap hit | Maximum Cap Hit | Minimum Cap Hit |
| 1 Year | $5.00M | $5.50M | $5.00M |
| 2 Year | $4.75M | $5.50M | $4.00M |
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