Breaking: Maple Leafs’ top forward now commits to the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had to choose between re-signing one of their top two pending free agents, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi. They signed the former and released the latter.
Domi agreed to a new four-year, $15 million contract with Toronto, while Bertuzzi left the Maple Leafs to accept a $22 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks over four seasons.
Bertuzzi’s choice, however, was not even in his plans until he received a call from former Boston Bruins colleague Nick Foligno, who persuaded him to join with the Windy City squad, as he revealed on July 5.
“Chicago wasn’t really on my radar,” Bertuzzi explained. “The day before free agency, Nick Foligno called me and said, ‘They’re a little bit interested.'” I was enthused about it, and then things progressed from there.”
Bertuzzi went on: “We just talked about the organization, the city, where to live, and things that are important to me and my family while obviously moving to a new city.”
The timing of Foligno’s communication has sparked concerns about possible meddling, which Bertuzzi indirectly verified by disclosing his chats with him. The NHL strictly outlaws tampering, which is defined as any effort to influence a player under contract with another team.
Bertuzzi is facing charges of tampering due to the nature of the talks between him and Foligno, as well as the fact that they occurred while the former was still under contract (before July 1, 2024).
As of yet, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has not stated any plans to investigate or take action in response to these claims, and no reports of Bettman taking action have surfaced until July 11.
