The Toronto Maple Leafs have once again managed to shock the NHL community, along with other teams, after signing star forward Tyler Bertuzzi.
It has been reported that a lot of the teams throughout the league are now feeling 'embarrassed' within themselves, as well as shocked that the Leafs were able to sign Bertuzzi to the terms of one year and $5.5M.
It was initially made public that Bertuzzi was seeking a long term deal, after negotiations with his own Boston Bruins fell through. But since it seems now that no team was able to meet that request, he lowered his standards and ultimately decided to take the one year offer with Toronto. Teams now feel embarrassed because they could have easily matched such an offer.
It is also believed to be that Bertuzzi is playing it smart by signing a one-year deal with the Leafs so that he can play next to superstars such as Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. With this, he will have an increased chance to play well and ultimately get that long-term contract that he wanted from the start in free agency next year.
The Bruins especially are now feeling disappointed with themselves with this signing. When trying to retain Bertuzzi, the idea of him signing a one-year deal was almost impossible based on what he wanted going into free agency. Now that he has signed a deal that the Bruins could have offered, the shame ultimately falls back on them. We'll see how this works out for Bertuzzi when next season comes around.
