(Toronto) The Toronto Maple Leafs added offensive-minded defenseman John Klingberg and tough guy Ryan Reaves when the free agent market opened on Saturday.
On Sunday, the team signed forward Tyler Bertuzzi.
They also saw six players, three attackers and three defenders, prefer to pursue their careers elsewhere than in Toronto.
Klingberg agreed to a one-year, $4.15 million contract. If he is no longer the defenseman who provided 67 points in 2017-18 with the Dallas Stars, his mission will be to add some offense to the Leafs brigade.
The 30-year-old Swede had 10 goals and 23 assists in 67 games last winter with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild.
For his part, Reaves signed a three-year, $4.05 million contract. He had five goals and 10 assists in 73 games with the New York Rangers and Wild last season.
Reaves has accumulated more than 1,000 penalty minutes in 828 career NHL games.
Bertuzzi was one of the forwards to watch in the free agent market. He scored 30 points in 50 games in 2022-23 with the Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.
The previous year, Bertuzzi had 30 goals and 62 points in 68 games with the Red Wings.
It was mostly the subtractions that caught the eye in Toronto on Saturday.
Defenders Luke Schenn, Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson have found takers elsewhere in the NHL, as have forwards Ryan O’Reilly, Michael Bunting and Alexander Kerfoot.
Schenn, Gustafsson and O’Reilly had been acquired as the trade deadline approached and were on a mission to help the Maple Leafs achieve top honors.
If the Maple Leafs finally won their first series since 2004 by eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, Sheldon Keefe’s troupe then hit a wall against the Florida Panthers.
Schenn and O’Reilly decided to continue their careers with the Nashville Predators, agreeing to three- and four-year deals, respectively. Gustafsson has agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Rangers.
For his part, Holl signed a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Red Wings.
The 31-year-old fullback had two goals and 16 assists in 80 games last winter.
Bunting accepted a three-year deal worth an average of $4.5 million a year with the Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Don Waddell confirmed the information by videoconference, although some details remained to be finalized.
Bunting established himself as a quality accomplice to stars Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner during his time with the Maple Leafs.
He was a Calder Trophy finalist in 2021-22 after scoring 23 goals and 63 points in 79 games. He had 23 goals and 26 assists in 82 games last winter.
Eventually, Kerfoot signed a two-year, $3.5 million annual average contract with the Arizona Coyotes.
Last season, Kerfoot had 10 goals and 32 points in 82 games with the Maple Leafs. He had scored a career-high 51 points in 2021-22.
