The Tampa Bay Lightning made room on Wednesday by cutting Jonas Johansson, and the opening went to a familiar name for Toronto fans: Dennis Hildeby.
That move gives the former Maple Leafs prospect a real shot with a division rival, and it also closes the book on how Toronto chose to handle a goaltender who had once looked like a possible long-term piece.
Hildeby was dealt by the Maple Leafs on July 1 after the club signed Sergei Bobrovsky. Toronto sent Hildeby, a 2028 third-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder to the other team in the Nick Paul trade.
The thinking in Toronto was pretty straightforward. With Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz expected to form the NHL tandem, and Artur Akhtyamov emerging as the top option with the Marlies, Hildeby no longer had a clear path.
The Lightning saw the fit from their side, too. They wanted a more dependable option behind Andrei Vasilevskiy, and the 6’7” Hildeby checked that box. He also came with a bargain contract - two more years at $841K - which mattered for a cap-stapped Tampa Bay team.
For Toronto, the logic was just as cold-blooded. Once it became clear Stolarz wasn’t going anywhere, the organization committed to a Bobrovsky-Stolarz setup. That left Hildeby in an awkward spot: either backing up in the AHL or stuck in limbo.
The biggest issue was waiver eligibility. Hildeby would have needed to clear waivers for Toronto to send him down, and that was a risky bet. Rather than gamble on losing him for nothing, the Leafs moved him.
There was a time when Hildeby looked like he could be part of the Leafs’ future. He’s 24, and the raw tools were there for a goalie with real upside. But Akhtyamov’s strong run in last season’s Calder Cup playoffs changed the picture fast, giving Toronto another young netminder to think about.
The trade also fit into a broader roster plan. John Chayka had been working to reshape the bottom six with players who could add depth and support behind the top group.
Nick Paul wasn’t a headline-grabbing addition, but Toronto is betting the 31-year-old can rediscover the kind of production he had a couple of seasons ago in Tampa. The Mississauga native had 20 goals in back-to-back seasons before an injury-riddled year last season.
Now the spotlight shifts to the Bobrovsky-Stolarz pairing. If it works, the move will look smart. If it doesn’t, the Hildeby trade could become one of the more debated decisions of Chayka’s time in Toronto.
In Other News...
Gavin McKenna Is Forcing A Bigger Maple Leafs Question Than Expected
Gavin McKenna has spent Maple Leafs preseason looking every bit like a prospect who belongs in the conversation, and that has made Torontos evaluation a little more interesting than expected. The 2026 first-overall pick finished the final exhibition against the Ottawa Senators with an assist and a plus-3 rating, and across the preseason he stood out in the areas Toronto tends to value most, piling up the kind of zone entries, offensive-zone possession and slot passes that suggest real play-driving ability.
The catch, of course, is that all of it came in exhibition games against lineups that were not quite NHL regulars. Even so, McKennas ability to tilt the ice has raised the sort of question teams like to have but do not always expect this early: how long can the Maple Leafs afford to keep a player performing this well in a role that is still only a preseason sample, and what does that mean when the games start to count? [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Leave Preseason With One Encouraging Sign And One New Concern
The Leafs closed out the preseason with a 6-1 win in their final exhibition game, and coach Jim Hiller came away with a couple of clear takeaways from the night. Gavin McKenna looked improved in his second preseason game, while Easton Cowan continued to show the kind of versatility that can make him useful in different roles as camp winds down.
Jim Hiller also addressed Sergei Bobrovskys performance in net, but the bigger question coming out of the game involved Nick Paul. His status is still uncertain, though it is not believed to be serious, and the team is expected to know more the following day. For a group trying to leave the preseason feeling settled, that is the kind of update that can linger a little longer than a win usually does. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin McKenna Just Gave Leafs Fans Another Reason To Be Excited
Preseason games are built for exactly this kind of buzz, and Gavin McKenna gave Maple Leafs fans a little more of it against the Senators. The rookie picked up his first NHL point by tipping the puck to William Nylander on a sequence that ended with John Tavares scoring, a neat little play that immediately put McKenna on the radar in Torontos camp.
It will not count in the official career ledger, of course, but these are the moments that make September hockey feel meaningful. For a player trying to carve out a place with a team that always draws scrutiny, even a preseason assist can carry a little extra weight, especially when it comes in the kind of quick, connected shift the Leafs like to see from their younger talent. [Read more 🡒]