Explaining Why He Came to Toronto.
Hockey season is just around the corner, and the Toronto Maple Leafs' pre-season Golf Classic went down on Monday.
Some of the team's newest additions were in attendance, including former Red Wings and Bruins forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who joins the Leafs to play for the third Original Six team of his NHL career.
During his first media scrum as a Leaf, the Sudbury, ON native — who's spent the summer skating with new teammates Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner — had this to say about why he returned to his home province this season:
"There was a lot of 1-year deals out there and I wanted to be at a place where winning was at the top of [our list], our biggest goal and I know the team has the best chance to make it a long way [in the playoffs], hopefully, and our end goal is to win the Cup... It's close to home too.
[Last year] was my first taste of playoff hockey. That was another reason [why I signed here]. It's the best time of year and it's a lot of fun to play in those situations and to get a feel for that, I wanted to be back in it and continue to be in it every year... I'm excited."
[Last year] was my first taste of playoff hockey. That was another reason [why I signed here]. It's the best time of year and it's a lot of fun to play in those situations and to get a feel for that, I wanted to be back in it and continue to be in it every year... I'm excited."
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Bertuzzi's comments indicate that not only did it appeal to him due to proximity to his hometown, he truly believes the Leafs have what it takes to get over the hump and challenge for the Stanley Cup.
As mentioned earlier, he's been skating with some of his new Toronto teammates to get to know them better before the season, and he's been in town for the past few weeks.
"I'm excited. It's been a good couple of weeks - I came [to Toronto] 2 or 3 weeks ago to kind of just meet all the guys, skate and work out... you know, just get to know everyone, so it's been good and I'm just ready to get going."
In any case, he'll still need to get used to the Toronto media fishbowl:
As seen on Maple Leafs Daily:
Tyler Bertuzzi responds to media questions before Leafs Golf Classic, reveals why he chose Toronto
Tyler Bertuzzi responds to media questions before Leafs Golf Classic, reveals why he chose Toronto
| POLL | ||
18 SEPTEMBRE | 363 ANSWERS Tyler Bertuzzi Spills Tea About Why He Chose to Play for the Maple Leafs Will Tyler Bertuzzi find success as a Toronto Maple Leaf? | ||
| Yes | 309 | 85.1 % |
| No | 54 | 14.9 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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