The Maple Leafs held a Zoom media availability with general manager John Chayka on Wednesday.
The Leafs made a big splash on the first day of free agency by signing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21-million deal.
“Sergei’s a real game changer for us in terms of the stability, the consistency, the durability,” general manager John Chayka said. “Obviously the resume speaks for itself. [He] possibly ends up being the best in that position of all time. To be able to secure a player like that for this team that’s looking to break through, we feel like it was the right player at the right time. Not just on the ice but certainly off the ice, the mentorship, the professionalism, the championship pedigree.”
Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, who backstopped the Florida Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2024 and 2025.
But Bobrovsky is coming off a down year, which saw him post a career-low .877 save percentage over 52 games as the injury-ravaged Panthers missed the playoffs. The Leafs are confident the future Hall of Famer, who turns 38 in September, will bounce back.
“It’s the body of work,” Chayka explained. “I think it’s who he is as a person. I think it’s his habits, how he approaches the game, his body. [He’s] just an impressive guy overall. As we think about it, if we’re going into a Game 7 ... is there another goalie in the world that we’d want in net for us? And the answer would be no. We would prefer to have Sergei Bobrovsky, and that was a big part of it.”
Bobrovsky beat the Leafs in Game 7 of a second-round series during the 2025 playoffs. He also stymied Toronto during a five-game, second-round series in 2023.
“He’s looking to win,” Chayka said. “I think it says a lot about the organization, it says a lot about the ownership and a lot about the player leadership. He really believes in these guys, which is great.”
The arrival of Bobrovsky pushes Anthony Stolarz back into a back-up role. Stolarz also served as Bobrovsky’s understudy during the 2023-24 season in Florida before signing with the Leafs.
Stolarz, 32, performed well in Toronto during the past two years (.912 save percentage), but has struggled to remain available while dealing with a series of injuries. He has never played more than 34 games in any NHL season.
Bobrovsky has played at least 50 games in nine of the last 10 seasons with the only exception being the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
“We’re talking about someone who’s been at the top of his craft for a very long time, someone that, as I understand it, is obsessive about taking care of his body and what he puts into his body and everything about performing at the highest level,” Chayka said. “We felt comfort that between our whole goalie group that he has shown durability.”
Toronto’s director of goaltending development and scouting, Curtis McElhinney, served as Bobrovsky’s back-up goalie for four seasons during his playing days with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Bobrovsky’s career started with the small-market Jackets before his seven-year run in the non-traditional market of Sunrise, Fla.
“We think he’s really motivated to come into the largest hockey market in the world, and it’s important to him that he finish his career strong,” Chayka said. “We think that that’s a common goal that we can both get around.”
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Bobrovsky will serve as a mentor to 24-year-old Russian goalie Artur Akhtyamov, who just led the Toronto Marlies to the Calder Cup and was named MVP of the American Hockey League playoffs.
“He grabbed the net there and we think he’s as good a goalie prospect as there is in the league,” Chayka said. “That gives us a lot of faith in the future of our goaltending. And certainly with Sergei today and Anthony, we feel like we’ve got a great goaltending pipeline now.”
During a game in Toronto on April 11, Bobrovsky shared a moment with Akhtyamov during warm-ups.
“He was my favourite goalie when I was young so just [to] talk with him is important for me,” Akhtyamov recalled of his countryman during a recent media session.
The Leafs traded away Joseph Woll earlier in the off-season, which left them short on experience in the crease.
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Akhtyamov made his NHL debut last season, getting into three games with the Leafs. Meanwhile, fellow 24-year-old Dennis Hildeby produced an impressive (and team-best) .914 save percentage in 20 games with the Leafs.
But Akhtyamov passed Hildeby on the depth chart in the AHL playoffs and, unlike the 6-foot-7 Swede, does not require waivers to be sent to the minors next season. The Leafs had no appetite to start next year with Bobrovsky, Stolarz and Hildeby all on the roster.
“Academically, it makes sense to carry three goalies, and you can do that, but realistically and practically, it is hard,” Chayka said. “That is not ideal. If you can find a hockey trade that makes sense, that is what we were open to.”
On Wednesday, the Leafs traded Hildeby, a fourth-round selection in the 2027 draft and a third-round selection in 2028 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for centre/left winger Nick Paul.
“It is a good hockey trade,” Chayka said. “[Lightning GM] Julien [BriseBois] has a need and identified Dennis as a guy who can fill it.”
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The Leafs, who shipped out centres Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton at the trade deadline under former general manager Brad Treliving, had a need down the middle.
“We scoured the centre market,” Chayka said. “It is one of those positions where you never want to be caught in a position where you don’t have enough. Certainly, as we came in here, we felt like we needed to be better. We pursued everything.”
Along with acquiring Paul, the Leafs signed left-shot centre Teddy Blueger ($2.5-million AAV) and right-shot centre Colton Sissons (4.25-million AAV) to two-year deals.
“Colton has the ability to win draws,” Chayka noted. “Both are penalty kill guys. They have taken some hard-matchup minutes and done pretty well in those. Certainly, both are high-energy and can play a physical game.”
The Leafs will no longer need to lean quite as much on captain and top-line centre Auston Matthews or 35-year-old pivot John Tavares in defensive situations.
“Bringing in guys who have embraced those roles of taking the hardest minutes, are willing to do it, who enjoy it, and have built a career doing it kind of frees up the rest of the roster to do their thing,” Chayka continued. “These are guys we targeted and spent a lot of time on. We feel like they bring this combination of speed, tenacity, and hard work on a consistent basis, night in and night out. I think the fans are really going to enjoy them.”
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The Leafs also signed forward Jack Roslovic to a two-year deal ($4-million AAV).
“He is a bit of a Swiss-army knife,” Chayka said. “We like him up the middle, too. He has actually performed quite well there, especially as his game has matured over the years.”
Roslovic, who has hit 20 goals in three of the past five seasons, also has a history with Matthews having been linemates with him during their junior days at the United States National Development Program.
“He is a great skater who is great through the neutral zone,” Chayka said. “He is a guy who has a history with Auston, so that certainly helps. The right shot was an important part. If you look at our lineup from last year and our inability to create offence in certain situations, we really felt like the over-indexed lefties were a problem. The fact that he is a right shot, and with [lefties] Auston and John up the middle, these are different options for the coaching staff.”
The Leafs only had two regular right-shot wingers last year in William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok, who is no longer with the team following the expiration of his contract.
Also on Wednesday, the Leafs signed right winger Brandon Duhaime to a three-year deal ($2.6-million AAV) and right winger Zack MacEwen to a two-year pact ($875,000 AAV).
“We felt like we got a lot of different elements to the game that we can then give our coaches now — the flexibility to create a lineup that we feel is now deeper, faster, bigger, heavier, and guys have some roles,” Chayka said. “We certainly feel like we are a better hockey team today as a result.”
To make room for the new recruits, Toronto traded left-shot winger Nick Robertson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.
The Leafs also recently parted ways with left winger Matias Maccelli, who did not receive a qualifying offer and became an unrestricted free agent.
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While Wednesday’s activity focused on the forward group and goaltending, the Leafs previously changed the mix on the blue line by bringing in puck-movers Darren Raddysh and Emil Andrae via trades with the Lightning and Flyers. Toronto also signed defenceman Troy Stecher to a two-year extension this week.
“We needed to make some significant changes to the roster construction,” Chayka said. “We had some roles we needed to fill, and we needed to create some depth. Certainly, through the spine of our team now, we feel a lot better about our centre position through the defence. Obviously, we added Raddysh a little earlier, so it doesn’t feel like the free-agent piece, but it truly was. Now, our portfolio of goalies, we feel great about.”
With the future of Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski in Columbus unclear, Chayka was asked about the potential to make a bigger move.
“Our blue line is in a pretty good place overall,” he stressed. “I would say that I can’t comment on any specific players, but as a general theme, we were able to put this roster together by actually adding futures, if you look at it. For us, we maintain our future flexibility and capital. As players become available or there are opportunities we want to pursue, we maintain the flexibility to pursue those things. That was a big part of this. We want to be the best possible team we can be this year, but also continue to build for the future and build some capital to then add to this team at the right time. We think we achieved that today.”
Chayka praised his management team, including senior executive advisor Mats Sundin and assistant general manager (minor league operations) Ryan Hardy, for their work during this busy stretch.
“Mats Sundin was amazing,” Chayka gushed. “Super helpful and super thoughtful guy. I obviously knew him, but to go through this experience with him was new. Incredibly important sounding board for all of us. Ryan Hardy [is] a guy I didn’t know, honestly, coming into this. I knew his background and the program he built, but I am really impressed. He helped a ton with some of these key players with his knowledge. I think he is a future GM in this league.”
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The Leafs will hold their first on-ice sessions at development camp on Thursday at the Ford Performance Centre.
