The Toronto Maple Leafs are officially eliminated from postseason contention. They lost in game seven to the Boston Bruins at TD Garden again.
There are going to be some major changes that come as a result of this game seven defeat to the Bruins. They can't run it back with the same group.
A lot of players on Toronto's roster are on expired deals. There are a few that also may not be on expired deals but have played their last game with the team anyway.
These are the three players that very well could be on a new team at the start of next season:
Tyler Bertuzzi may not return to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season
Tyler Bertuzzi surprised some people by not going back to the Boston Bruins last summer. He seemed like a good fit. He ended up on the team that would be eliminated by the Bruins instead.
It was a one-year deal with the Leafs so that is officially done. He is a free agent that could end up with any team.
Bertuzzi had a slow start in Toronto as he was struggling to find his way. He ended up figuring it out a little bit and found his game.
He finished the year with 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 80 games played. In the end, you'd probably like to see a little bit more from him but it is still a good amount of points.
If Bertuzzi is a third guy on a skill line, you are in good shape. If he doesn't have a bad start, he probably ends with even more points. A lot of teams will give him a call, including Toronto.