How Have The Maple Leafs' Off-Season Additions Fared In The NHL This Season?

It's well documented that the Toronto Maple Leafs had a busy off-season in terms of bringing in new faces. GM John Chayka signed and traded for several players, giving his team arguably the biggest turnover in the NHL.

Including some big names, who has been the biggest addition so far this season for the Maple Leafs? Some have been exceeding expectations, others have met projections, and a few haven't held up their end of the bargain completely.

Here's a dive into those in their first seasons as Maple Leafs after being added to the organization this past off-season.

Joining the team on a PTO and then impressing the organization to earn a one-year $1.4 million contract, Nick Blankenburg hasn't seen much action with the Maple Leafs so far.

The 28-year-old defenseman has played six games for Toronto, scoring one goal and averaging 13:05 in ice time per game. He's been sidelined with an upper-body injury since his last game on Oct. 22.

The Maple Leafs' fourth line has been one of the bright spots of the team's season so far. With two goals and two assists, Teddy Blueger is a key member of the penalty kill - leading the team's forwards in average shorthanded time on ice at 3:03 per game - and is a reliable player for head coach Jim Hiller when it's time to shut down the opposition.

With the fourth line and penalty killing being two of some of the best performing aspects of the Leafs this year, Blueger, signed to a two-year deal in the summer, has been instrumental to both attributes.

Zack MacEwen was at the bottom of the shuffle of July 1 signings, inking a two-year, $875,000-per-year deal. However, he's been one of the biggest pleasant surprises for Toronto this season.

There wasn't much expectation attached to him going into the year as a player who's known to just rack up the penalty minutes and be physical. But along with his signature physicality, he's brought speed and a scoring touch with two goals and four points in 11 games.

To round out that fourth line, Brandon Duhaime has also been a staple to the team's penalty kill. Signed on July 1 to a three-year contract, Duhaime has averaged 2:11 of ice time on the penalty kill per game.

The 29-year-old is also another fast player who can skate and is a very good forechecker. He's been a major reason why Toronto's fourth line has been getting some offensive zone time, pretty frequently. 

Of all the Maple Leafs' forward lines to play at least 30 minutes together, only the line of Kirill Marchenko, Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic has a higher Corsi share (57.41), and leads the way in expected goals share at 71.61, per NaturalStatTrick.

To a greater extent, Colton Sissons has been important to the Leafs' penalty kill, but he also anchors Toronto's third line, and has done so consistently each night.

The Maple Leafs have long sought a strong third-line center, with Alex Kerfoot, Max Domi, Nicolas Roy, Scott Laughton, the list goes on. But Sissons has done his work and brought his tools to each contest he participates in. 

He doesn't score much - two goals and five points in all 17 games - but he performs behind the puck and has been the best faceoff man on the team, winning 59.8 of his 194 draws. 

He signed a two-year contract with the Leafs on July 1.

Nick Paul became very important to the Maple Leafs quickly this season. After initially being slotted in on the third line with Sissons and Easton Cowan, he's now been playing second-line center with John Tavares out with an injury. Even in the game that Tavares left with an injury, Paul started on the second line as the middle man.

He's also another player that won't light up the box score, but with two goals and six points in 17 games, he's also shown that he can fill a hole in a pinch like the Maple Leafs are in right now.

He joined the Maple Leafs in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goaltender Dennis Hildeby, a 2027 fourth-round pick, and a 2028 3rd-round pick.

Speaking of injuries, Marchenko has been out since suffering his lower-body injury on Oct. 26. It's been a real shame for the 26-year-old and the team to be out of the lineup, especially with the excellent start he's had.

In 14 games, Marchenko has scored six goals and 14 points. His play so far has proved Chayka right in acquiring him from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, Toronto departed from Matthew Knies (two points and no goals in his last 12 games), Emil Andrae (waived and sent down to the AHL), and Steven Lorentz (hasn't played an NHL game this year).

Jack Roslovic is another addition that has been paying off for Chayka and the Maple Leafs' front office. On July 1, he was signed to a two-year deal, and now he has eight goals and 18 points in 17 contests.

He's on pace to have the best season of his NHL career. He's third on the team in goals and points, and among new additions around the league from the off-season, he leads them all in scoring. That includes Brady Tkachuk, Viktor Arvidsson, Jordan Kyrou, and more.

It's been a mixed bag from Darren Raddysh this season so far, but nothing has been worth the exaggerated groans and complaints. He hasn't scored a goal in his first 17 games (nine assists), but has been relied on heavily.

The 30-year-old has averaged 23:37 of ice time per game, leaning into the defensive aspect much more than Hiller has anticipated, but has fared well under the circumstances of a depleted blueline.

It's worth noting that after 17 games with the Lightning last season, in which Raddysh finished with 22 goals and 70 points, he had two goals and 10 points, which isn't far off from what he's achieved so far this year.

Raddysh was signed to an eight-year contract worth $8.5 million per season in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay.

Sergei Bobrovsky is arguably the biggest free-agent signing Toronto made this off-season. He inked a three-year contract worth $7 million per year, and is 38 years old.

Despite being one of the all-time great goaltenders in NHL history, he hasn't been so legendary for the Maple Leafs early on this season. In 11 starts, he's posted a .899 save percentage and has a 3-6-2 record.

While he wasn't brought in via a trade or a free-agent acquisition, Gavin McKenna was still added to the team as the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft.

He's played in several different situations in the Maple Leafs' top-nine forward group. He started on the second line, got a look on the top line for a few games, but has spent most of this season on the third line.

The 18-year-old has five goals and 11 points in 17 games while averaging 13:51 of ice time per game, putting him third in rookie scoring.

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