New Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka has been a busy man since he was hired at the start of May. There's virtually no area he hasn't addressed in his first moves on the job, writes Adam Proteau.
It isn't an exaggeration to say the Toronto Maple Leafs have been the NHL's busiest team this off-season.
Since John Chayka was named Maple Leafs GM on May 3, Toronto has made some notable news every other day. And as free agency kicked off on Wednesday, the Leafs were front and center with a slew of signings.
Although the Leafs have welcomed in nine new NHL-caliber players so far, including No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna, there could be more moves on the horizon for Chayka.
Let's look at all the areas Chayka has addressed this summer and see what Maple Leafs fans should expect between now and the start of training camp.
Goaltending
The Leafs entered the off-season with one particular strength – their goaltending depth.
With Joseph Woll, Anthony Stolarz, Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov, Toronto had the depth many teams would kill for.
Chayka made moves from his position of strength in net, dealing Woll to the Philadelphia Flyers, then trading Hildeby to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nick Paul.
Chayka then landed arguably the best goalie on the UFA market, former Florida Panthers star Sergei Bobrovsky.
The end result of Chayka's moves in net is the same tandem that won a Stanley Cup in Florida in 2023-24. Bobrovsky and Stolarz have the experience teams look for in a netminder, and Akhtyamov can apprentice under a fellow Russian star in Bobrovsky.
Despite having a statistically poor year, Bobrovsky is expected to be a workhorse between the pipes.
He and Stolarz could be one of the league's better tandems if they're both in form. Of course, the same was said about Woll and Stolarz before they each posted save percentages below .900 this past season, so the pressure is still on the new tandem to perform well.
Though Bobrovsky really doesn't have much to prove to anyone, he now must prove he's still worth a major investment of $7 million for each of the next three years.
Defense
Toronto's defense corps was tested without key veteran Chris Tanev for most of the season.
This summer, one of Chayka's first moves was to acquire young blueliner Emil Andrae from the Flyers in the Woll trade that also sent depth piece Simon Benoit to Philly. Chayka followed that up by acquiring right-shot D-man Darren Raddysh from the Lightning. Raddysh had 22 goals and 70 points this past season.
Along with the re-signing of depth defender Troy Stecher and the trade of Brandon Carlo to the St. Louis Blues, the Leafs' defense group looks noticeably different. It has much more potential to provide some offense, although whether it will be better defensively still depends on Tanev's status.
Chayka may not even be done making changes to his defense corps.
If he can find a new home for veteran blueliner Morgan Rielly, Chayka will have $7.5 million in cap space to either acquire someone in return or use elsewhere. And there will be new opportunities for Leafs defense prospects. That should be a clear win for Chayka.
Forwards
The Leafs had the good fortune of picking first overall in the NHL draft, taking NCAA left winger Gavin McKenna. He'll get every opportunity to play on Toronto's first or second line.
But McKenna isn't the only new forward. Far from it.
Chayka spent a lot of money to firm up the bottom six forwards, as well as former Edmonton Oilers right winger Jack Roslovic, who can play up and down the lineup. Worker bee players, such as Colton Sissons, Brandon Duhaime, Nick Paul and Teddy Blueger, have been brought in, and regulars Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli and Calle Jarnkrok have been cut loose.
Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares are still Toronto's foundation. But Chayka has strengthened his forward group this off-season with a mix of grit and depth scoring.
Coaching
Former Los Angeles Kings bench boss Jim Hiller doesn't feel like the first choice for the job. If University of Denver coach David Carle wanted to uproot his family from Denver and come to Toronto, he almost certainly would've been the top candidate to replace Craig Berube.
Still, if Hiller comes in and motivates Leafs players while providing some more effective defensive structure to Toronto's game, his hiring will be well worth it for Chayka.
Hiller knows the Leafs market from his days as their assistant coach, and if he pumps the tires of Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Matthew Knies, Hiller will be doing Chayka's bidding.
Toronto desperately needs a bounce-back season in 2026-27, and Hiller will be immediately under the gun to produce positive results. He didn't have great results in L.A., but Hiller has to generate positivity, trying to win now while also developing Toronto's next generation of players. Those results will dictate how long Hiller lasts in Leafs Land.
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