The Leafs took a chance on Bertuzzi this year, signing him to a one-year deal. At the beginning of the year it looked like the deal might blow up in their face, but ultimately the winger put together a strong second half, ending the season 7th on the team in scoring with 43 points, including 21 goals.
In the playoffs, Bertuzzi was perhaps even more effective as he was tied for the team lead in points with four through the seven-game series against Boston. Apparently, he was impressive enough that the team is interested in re-signing him, as per the report from Pagnotta.
Now former NHL defenseman Jordan Schmaltz is chiming in with what he thinks it will take to sign Bertuzzi. He suggests a three-year deal with an average annual value of 4.75 million dollars should be good enough, but he added that half the money in the deal should be paid out in signing bonuses.
Given how specific Schmaltz is here, one might wonder if he has any personal connections to Bertuzzi, or someone who might be close to the player. Bertuzzi and Schmaltz were never teammates, but they may very well be connected anyways. The coming weeks should show whether or not Schmaltz was on the money with this prediction.
