Sergei Bobrovsky is heading to Toronto, and the Maple Leafs are betting that one of the league’s most accomplished veterans can help steady a franchise that has been knocked off course.
The Leafs signed the two-time Stanley Cup winner to a reported three-year, $US21-million contract as NHL free agency opened Wednesday. Bobrovsky, who beat Toronto in the 2023 and 2025 playoffs while playing for the Panthers, will now join the club he helped torment. He’s set to share the crease with Anthony Stolarz again after the pair lifted hockey’s holy grail together in Florida two years ago.
Toronto’s summer has already taken on an unfamiliar look. The club missed the post-season for the first time in a decade to finish a miserable 2025-26, then landed the draft lottery luck needed to grab winger Gavin McKenna with the first pick last week. Canada Day brought another major move with Bobrovsky’s arrival, and the 37-year-old Russian now steps into a lineup featuring Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
The Leafs also moved winger Nick Robertson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fourth-round pick at the 2028 NHL draft.
Bobrovsky wasn’t the only notable name to find a new deal on a busy day around the league. Montreal locked up 20-year-old forward Ivan Demidov with a $73.2-million extension through 2034-25 that starts after next season, keeping another piece of its youthful core in place.
The Golden Knights retained defenceman Rasmus Andersson on a reported seven-year, $59.5-million contract after landing him from Calgary before the March trade deadline. Winnipeg added goaltender Stuart Skinner on a two-year, $7.5-million deal, while the Sharks landed rugged blueliner Jacob Trouba on a four-year, $33-million contract.
Chicago made a major commitment to defenceman Bowen Byram, signing him to a six-year deal worth $75 million that begins in 2027-28 after a recent trade with Buffalo. New Jersey also stayed busy, agreeing to a five-year, $58.5-million extension with captain Nico Hischier that starts in 2027-28.
Around the rest of the league, Ottawa re-signed pending UFA forward Nick Cousins to a two-year, $3.175-million contract, and Florida kept forward Eetu Luostarinen on an eight-year extension worth a reported $40 million beginning in 2027-28. Vancouver brought back defenceman Luke Schenn on a one-year, $2.25-million deal.
Dallas dealt restricted free agent Mavrik Bourque and defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin to Nashville for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-rounder. Philadelphia re-upped goaltender Dan Vladar to a five-year, $27.5-million extension starting in 2027-28 and signed forward Tyson Foerster to an eight-year, $56.8-million contract that also kicks in after the upcoming season.
Seattle added RFA forward Mackie Samoskevich on a three-year, $11.55-million agreement, while the Sabres signed RFA defenceman Olen Zellweger to a three-year, $9.3-million deal.
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