For a long time, the Maple Leafs tried to pass off a bottom-six that never really had a clear shape. This summer, they finally ripped that idea apart and built something with a real purpose.
John Chayka didn’t waste time on the first day of free agency. Toronto came out with six signings and two trades, turning over the roster in a hurry and giving the team a very different look almost immediately. The headline move was Sergei Bobrovsky, while the trade for Nick Paul stood out as the kind of addition that could matter in a big way later on.
Most of the work was done in the margins, but that was the point. Toronto’s bottom-six had spent too long without a clear defensive identity, cycling through players who could do different things but never quite gave the group a defined role. That changed on Wednesday.
Chayka added three players and brought in another to reshape that part of the lineup: Colton Sissons on a two-year deal, Teddy Blueger on a two-year deal, Brandon Duhaime on a three-year pact, and Nick Paul arriving in a deal that sent Dennis Hildeby away. Taken together, those moves give the Leafs a much more recognizable group on the lower half of the roster.
The center depth is suddenly a lot sturdier, too. Blueger, Sissons, Paul and Jack Roslovic can all line up down the middle, and the first three bring real strength in the faceoff dot along with more size and bite. That alone changes the feel of the group.
Speed might be the biggest shift of all. With the exception of Blueger, those additions sat in the upper echelon of the NHL in skating speed, which matters for a team that wants to move better and be harder to pin down. It’s not just about defending longer shifts; it’s about getting the puck out and turning that into quick transition offense.
That’s where the fit starts to make even more sense. These aren’t just stopgaps. They’re players who can pressure, win pucks, and get out of trouble fast enough to let the stronger offensive pieces do damage on the other end.
The contrast with last season is pretty stark. Toronto had been leaning on names like Nick Robertson, Matias Maccelli, Max Domi and others in checking roles, which was a strange way to piece together a bottom-six.
Pontus Holmberg left for Tampa, where he signed and became a crucial 3C. Fraser Minten was moved in the Brandon Carlo trade, even though he could have filled the kind of two-way role Toronto needed.
Nick Foligno was brought in years ago, but injuries kept him from doing much, and Calle Jarnkrok dropped off hard.
Now the Leafs at least know what they are. Justin Bourne summed it up cleanly:
Thing I like about Leafs new bottom-6 is that it knows what it is. PK, check, do it right...Can skate, bigger, just more predictable.
Predictable can sound dull, but in this case it’s exactly the point. A bottom-six doesn’t need to be flashy. It needs to be reliable, physical, and capable of tilting a game back toward stability when things get messy.
Toronto has that now, and it has the size to go with it. Sissons, Blueger, Paul and Duhaime are all over six feet, with Paul listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. They’re built to play heavy, and they’re going to make life uncomfortable for opponents.
That’s the job. Win puck battles, take away chances, steady the game, and let the stars cash in when the ice opens up.
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Leafs Free Agency Just Sent A Loud Message About Auston Matthews
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What those additions ultimately mean will come down to usage, because the goal is less about adding names and more about changing the way Matthews is deployed. The Leafs want him carrying less of the defensive load and spending more time in situations that tilt toward offense, a shift that could be significant if Hiller is able to make it stick. [Read more 🡒]