New Leafs & Their Role – Sergei Bobrovsky

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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 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and the shipping off of Dennis Hildeby to Tampa Bay for Nick Paul.

This week, we will complete our 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

Sergei Bobrovsky

The move that may have the biggest impact either positively or negatively for the Leafs this summer was the signing of veteran goalie Bobrovsky. The question regarding the future Hall-of-Famer is solely how much he has left in the tank. The two-time Cup and Vezina winner has been a workhorse the majority of his 16-year career with Philadelphia, Columbus, and Florida, starting 50 or more games 12 times, but that workload is part of the concern.

“Goalie Bob” turns 38 a week before the start of next season, and he is coming off the worst statistical year of his career (3.07 GAA, .877 save %) with the Panthers. That in part has to be attributed to Florida’s slew of injuries throughout the lineup, but it was enough of a concern for Panthers GM Bill Zito to opt for slightly younger and not as accomplished Jacob Markstrom instead of succumbing to Bobrovsky’s contract demands.

The structure of his contract is front-loaded in 2026-27 (nearly $9 million), which down the line could make dealing or buying him out less troublesome. Chayka opted to trade the younger and less-injury-prone Woll to Philadelphia and reunite the Cup-winning combo of Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz. The one sure thing about that is it relegates Stolarz to a backup or 1B role, where the chances of him getting re-injured are less likely, but as we all know, Stolarz gets hurt when he breathes, so you can expect Calder Cup winner Artur Akhtyamov to get some work next season, and the presence of his idol may also be beneficial.

The addition of Andrae on the blueline may be potentially beneficial in improving the Leafs’ mobility on the back end, and the group of forwards appears to be a significant upgrade of the club’s bottom six from last season, but all of that may be for naught if Bobrovsky cannot rebound.