The Toronto Maple Leafs are still weeks from training camp, but the real work of an offseason often happens in the margins. The splashy moves are done.
The roster is starting to settle. Now it’s about the players who can quietly tilt a season in the right direction.
For Toronto, that means looking at two very different names: goaltending prospect Artur Akhtyamov and veteran forward Nick Paul. Neither needs to become a headline-grabber for the Maple Leafs to get value out of them. In fact, the best-case version of each player is the one that makes life easier for everyone else.
Akhtyamov’s ideal season may not look dramatic on paper. With Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz expected to handle the Maple Leafs’ crease, there’s no reason to force the young goalie into a bigger NHL role than he’s ready for. The smarter path is another season of heavy minutes with the American Hockey League Toronto Marlies, where he can keep building the kind of consistency NHL teams demand from young goaltenders.
That doesn’t mean he’s out of the picture. If Akhtyamov builds on his outstanding Calder Cup playoff run and turns in another strong AHL season, he could still pick up a few NHL starts when injuries, back-to-backs, or schedule congestion open the door. But Toronto’s preferred outcome is that those chances stay limited because Bobrovsky gives them steady veteran play and Stolarz remains healthy, as he did two seasons ago.
That would be the sweet spot. Akhtyamov keeps developing without being pushed too soon, and the Maple Leafs continue to learn whether they have something special in the pipeline. By season’s end, they could have real confidence that their next homegrown NHL goalie is getting closer to a full-time job.
Paul, meanwhile, is the kind of player who can change a team without ever dominating a game. The best version of him is not a 25-goal scorer. It’s the forward who makes everybody around him better by doing a little bit of everything.
If he can stay healthy after an injury-plagued season in Tampa Bay, Paul could end up as one of Toronto’s most useful depth pieces. He has already shown he can score in the high teens or low 20s while handling tough defensive work, and that blend is exactly what the Maple Leafs want. He can play center or wing, move around the lineup, kill penalties, protect a late lead, and still chip in offense when it matters.
That kind of flexibility matters over 82 games, especially under new head coach Jim Hiller. When injuries hit or the lineup needs to be reshuffled, Paul is the sort of player who can slide into almost any role without throwing the rest of the group off balance.
The best-case scenario is that he becomes so steady that nobody spends much time talking about the trade. If Paul gives Toronto 75 or more healthy games, wins faceoffs, scores 15 to 20 goals, and earns the trust of the coaching staff in every situation, the Maple Leafs will have gotten exactly what general manager John Chayka was after: a dependable veteran who helps win games in ways that don’t always show up on the scoresheet.
Put Akhtyamov and Paul together, and the theme is clear. Toronto doesn’t need either player to become a star.
If Akhtyamov spends most of the year developing with the Marlies because Bobrovsky and Stolarz are doing their jobs, that’s a success. If Paul becomes the steady, versatile forward who can handle whatever is asked of him, that’s another one.
For a team coming off a season of turmoil, that kind of stability could matter more than any flashy summer headline. If the Maple Leafs get patience, depth, and reliable role players from these two, this offseason might look a lot smarter by next spring.
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Morgan Rielly Rumors Just Put The Leafs Blue Line In Focus
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If Rielly remains in Toronto, the path forward may look different than it has in past seasons. A lighter load could actually work in his favor, both by giving him more room to contribute offensively and by easing some of the pressure that has followed him, while the coaching staff continues to sort out pairings and power-play usage with several new options in the mix. [Read more 🡒]