New general manager John Chayka\u2019s transformation of the Toronto Maple Leafs isn\u2019t dependent on youth alone.<\/p>\n
Days after selecting play-making 18-year-old forward Gavin McKenna with the first pick in the NHL draft, Chayka added veteran depth \u2014 with Stanley Cup Final experience \u2014 in a series of moves highlighted by the signing of goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21 million contract as free agency opened on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
At nearly 38, Bobrovsky is a two-time Cup champion and leaves Florida to fill what\u2019s been a long-unaddressed need in Toronto.<\/p>\n
\u201cSergei\u2019s a real game-changer for us in terms of the stability, the consistency, the durability,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cWe think he\u2019s really motivated to come into the largest hockey market in the world, and it\u2019s important to him that he finish his career strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the other more active teams were the San Jose Sharks. They signed free agent defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Mason Marchment, while also acquiring defenseman Darnell Nurse in a trade with Edmonton.<\/p>\n
Utah, coming off its first playoff appearance, signed former Islanders captain Anders Lee to a three-year, $16.2 million contract and acquired Vincent Trocheck from the Rangers as the Mammoth muscled up their front line.<\/p>\n
Aside from Lee, and with veteran forward Patrick Kane and defenseman John Carlson still available, Bobrovsky was considered among the most prized free agents on the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cA sincere thank you to Sergei Bobrovsky for all he did for this organization,\u201d said Panthers general manager Bill Zito, who this past week had traded for goalies Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. \u201cThings happen where decisions get made and people move on. It\u2019s part of our game. We have nothing but appreciation for Sergei.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though nearly a decade removed from winning the Vezina Trophy for a second time as the NHL\u2019s top goalie with Columbus in 2017, Bobrovsky represents an upgrade for a Leafs team that\u2019s gone through a carousel of netminders, including five alone last season. Toronto is attempting to retool on the fly with a new coach after finishing last in the Atlantic Division standings to snap a nine-year playoff run.<\/p>\n
The Leafs also signed center Teddy Blueger, who won a Cup in 2023 with Vegas, center Colton Sissons and center Jack Roslovic.<\/p>\n
More than 11 hours into free agency, Tampa Bay signed defenseman John Carlson to a two-year, $17 million contract, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. Carlson chose the Lightning over other interested suitors including Carolina and Washington.
\nRangers whe
\nel and deal<\/p>\n
The Rangers made four trades in a five-hour span, most notably sending Trocheck to Utah for defenseman Sean Durzi, prospect Cole Beaudoin and a third-round pick in the draft next year. They also acquired Marcus Pettersson from Vancouver for a conditional 2030 first-rounder, shipped fellow defenseman Will Borgon to Boston for picks and made an additional trade with the Bruins to get backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo.<\/p>\n
New York also signed former Tampa Bay forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.
\nSharks stock up<\/p>\n
The fast-improving Sharks are suddenly a destination. They acquired Nurse in a deal that sent defensive prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp to Edmonton. Trouba signed a four-year, $33 million deal and Marchment signed a five-year, $33.75 million contract.<\/p>\n
After the Sharks enjoyed a 19-win jump in the standings and barely missed the playoffs, Trouba called being part of a team on the rise behind Macklin Celebrini one of the biggest reasons he signed in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want a team that you feel like you can grow with and make an impact and help these young guys,\u201d Trouba said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to get into where everybody wants to be is on a contending team, and I think we have a good opportunity in San Jose to do that.\u201d
\nGoalies on the move<\/p>\n
The Oilers shuffled goalies by acquiring Buffalo\u2019s minor league prospect Devon Levi in a trade and added veteran Frederik Andersen on a $2.8 million contract for next season. Andersen was Carolina’s goaltender on the way to the Cup final before getting injured and exiting the series.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year, $7.5 million contract with Winnipeg. The Jets’ goaltending depth could be in flux with the team listening to trade offers for three-time Vezina Trophy-winner Connor Hellebuyck. Minnesota signed Calvin Pickard, while Tampa Bay got Denis Hildeby from Toronto for forward Nick Paul.
\nFree agent signings<\/p>\n
\u2014 Washington, still waiting on Alex Ovechkin\u2019s decision about whether he’ll return for a 22nd NHL season, signed Columbus forward Boone Jenner ($23 million) and San Jose defenseman Vincent Desharnais ($16.8 million) to four-year contracts.<\/p>\n
\u2014 The Los Angeles Kings signed Nashville forward Erik Haula to a two-year, $7.2 million contract. And Mats Zuccarello left Minnesota to sign with L.A.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chicago got veteran defenseman Ian Cole (Utah) for next season at $4.75 million.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Colorado signed former Seattle winger Jaden Schwartz to a three-year, $9.75 million contract.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Detroit signed Swedish winger Viktor Arvidsson (Boston) to a two-year contract worth $10 million.
\nStaying put<\/p>\n
In the meantime, teams were also busy retaining players.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Vegas re-signed defenseman Rasmus Andersson to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Florida signed rugged defenseman Radko Gudas, who just turned 36, to a six-year deal worth $1.5 million annually for a total of $9 million. The 36-year-old Gudas played in Florida for three seasons from 2020-23 and acquired in a trade with Anaheim on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u2014 New Jersey locked up captain Nico Hischier by signing the Swiss center to a five-year extension worth $58.5 million with an annual cap hit of $11.7 million from 2027 through 2032.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Montreal re-signed Ivan Demidov to an eight-year, $73 million contract after the 20-year-old Russian forward led all NHL rookies with 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) last season.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Philadelphia got two extensions done, signing forward Tyson Foerster to an eight-year, $56.8 million contract and extending goalie Dan Vladar for five years at $27.5 million.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NHL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New general manager John Chayka\u2019s transformation of the Toronto Maple Leafs isn\u2019t dependent on youth alone. Days after selecting play-making 18-year-old forward Gavin McKenna with the first pick in the NHL draft, Chayka added veteran depth \u2014 with Stanley Cup Final experience \u2014 in a series of moves highlighted by the signing of goalie Sergei … Continue reading Toronto Maple Leafs land prized free agent, signing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to 3-year, $21M deal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1452],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1519787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-07-04 03:47:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1519787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1519788,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519787\/revisions\/1519788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1519787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1519787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1519787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}