When asked if he was caught off guard by the one-year contract Bertuzzi signed with the Maple Leafs, Sweeney admitted,
"Probably a little bit. Again, I'll refrain from discussing a player on another team at this point in time. However, it's worth noting that some players were seeking longer-term deals, and my focus was on those discussions. Some teams were better positioned to offer shorter-term contracts at the appropriate figures, and we had to address our roster gaps. We made a move to create the necessary cap space. It would have required us to be even more proactive and explore deals, but we felt the value wasn't there to create additional space or be excessively aggressive and make a deal that would necessitate subsequent moves."