New Leafs And Their Role – Teddy Bleuger

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Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka made a major reshuffle of his roster, starting with the trade of Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to Philadelphia last month. The club added defenseman Emil Andrae and began restocking the shelves with the signings of forwards Colton Sissons, Jack Roslovic, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, and Zach MacEwen, and trading Dennis Hildeby to Tampa Bay for Nick Paul.

Over the next week, we will look at the players Chayka brought in and look at what role they are likely to be tasked at filling under new head coach Jim Hiller next season

Teddy Bleuger

The 31-year-old forward was a 2012 second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and after four years at Minnesota State-Mankato, he played two seasons in the AHL and split time in 2018-19 before making the Pens full time in 2019-20. After three more seasons, he was dealt at the 2023 trade deadline to Vegas and won a Cup with the Golden Knights.

The Riga, Latvia native signed a one-year deal with Vancouver and was part of a third-line unit with Leafs forward Dakota Joshua, scoring a career-high 28 points. After the Canucks made a run to the second round of the playoffs, Bleuger signed a two-year contract extension and had another solid season, but last year he encountered injury issues and played only 35 games, but tied a career-high with nine goals.

Bleuger signed a two-year, $5 million deal with Toronto. The motivation for the signing appears to be to be a versatile forward who can play up the middle in a pinch or on the wing, and someone who can handle the responsibilities of a penalty killer. The previous success with Joshua might be a cherry on top of the sundae if the two can rekindle some chemistry.