According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both sides wanted longer-term deals but settled on a one-year pact.

There were whispers circling around that Tyler Bertuzzi was looking for a long-term deal.

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the forward were eyeing the same path before settling on a one-year, $5.5 million contract.

"I’m of the belief that Toronto wanted to sign Bertuzzi longer and I think Bertuzzi wanted to sign longer. But, they just didn’t have the ability to do it now," Friedman said on Sportsnet Today with hosts Sam McKee and Jesse Rubinoff. Well, what does that mean after Jan. 1 when they are able to sign him to an extension?"

Bertuzzi was one of a handful of free agent signings that new general manager Brad Treliving has made since stepping into the position three months ago. Outside of extending Auston Matthews and David Kampf, and signing Ryan Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million contract, his deals have mostly been one year. He was unable to get an agreement done with goaltender Ilya Samsonov before arbitration had settled on a one-year, $3.55 million deal for the Russian.

That has left the Maple Leafs with a ton of salary cap flexibility for the 2024-25 season when the upper limit is expected to see its first substantial raise since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treliving will not get to observe his team on a day-to-day basis and it's quite possible that he leaves a lot of other big decisions until later in the season. That includes William Nylander, who has been eligible to sign a contract extension since July 1. 

But Jan. 1 will be key. If the Maple Leafs get off to a hot start and some of the newcomers make a case to stick around longer, then players like Bertuzzi, Max Domi and John Klingberg, who all signed one-year deals, could sign an extension as soon as January 1, 2024.

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