TORONTO — Amid the flurry of off-season moves that swept over the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer — the front-office overhaul, the new leader manning the bench, the arrival of a teenage wunderkind in Gavin McKenna — the club’s early splash in the cage has all but gotten lost in the shuffle.
Even as the Maple Leafs have taken the ice at their practice facility in Etobicoke, Ont., over the past week, the presence of their new veteran in net — he of two Stanley Cups and two Vezina trophies — has been cause for a double-take or two as the new season grinds into gear.
But make no mistake, there might have been no more crucial decision made by John Chayka and Co. this off-season than that of bringing in Sergei Bobrovsky to take over starting duties in the blue-and-white net. And with the new season a week away, the former Florida standout has already made his presence known in Toronto.
“It’s really hard to describe,” head coach Jim Hiller said of the netminder’s aura, after the club wrapped up practice Tuesday. “You’ve watched different athletes, you’ve seen them at the pinnacle of their sport, and they’re winning championships — he just fits that bill. Beyond playing as well as he has and having the career he’s had, he’s a champion. He’s such a humble guy, and so dedicated to being a professional athlete.
“He’s just got a great presence to him. But mark my words, he’s a fierce competitor. He’s a gentleman, and he treats you with respect, but inside, this guy’s doing everything he can to win.”
The hope is that this aspect of the 38-year-old’s presence, specifically, rubs off on a franchise desperate to rekindle its Cup dreams. A week into the experiment, the squad’s coach says others in the locker room are no doubt taking note of Bobrovsky’s laser focus.
“You know, when he speaks, you listen,” Hiller said. “And he's soft-spoken, you've got to lean in a little bit. And it's coming from the best place. So, I would think it's had a positive effect already. It's hard to measure it, right? Let's see as the season goes on. But I've talked to different players, and they're just like, 'I love this guy.'
"How could you not?”
For Bobrovsky himself, the move north after seven years in Florida, a near-decade run that netted a pair of Stanley Cup rings, brings with it a slew of changes, of needed adjustments.
“It’s everything, you know?” he said Tuesday. “You’ve got to get into the rhythm, get to know the guys, put your energy into the group, just fit yourself into the group and try to be productive.”
There's the matter of getting settled away from the rink, too — the goaltender spent the entirety of his 38th birthday this past Sunday unpacking. He's looking forward to his family seeing snow again after a near-decade down south.
As for his game, the veteran looked solid in his pre-season debut for his new club, playing half of Toronto’s tilt against Montreal on Saturday and turning aside 10 of 11 shots in the exhibition debut. Now comes another chance to find his rhythm Wednesday, when the Maple Leafs meet Ottawa in another pair of split-squad pre-season games.
“I feel good. We had good work, everybody worked hard. It’s a fun atmosphere,” Bobrovsky said of Tuesday's on-ice session. “We’re just building. Tomorrow is a game, exhibition game — we adjust again, we work on our system. We’re getting together.”
Even a week into his tenure, the veteran’s off-ice focus has become a talking point among the rest of the Maple Leafs, his teammates brandishing wide grins when they speak about his methods.
“He’s been around long enough that he came in and our guys had some expectations of what he was like — in the gym, in terms of how he prepares,” Morgan Rielly said of the goalie Monday. “He’s met all those expectations. He’s just extremely dialled.”
“The way he prepares, the way he comes in every day, the way that he works in practice — he's the hardest worker out there,” fellow newcomer Darren Raddysh added Tuesday. “He's been doing that his whole career. It's pretty cool to see it in person.”
The much-discussed off-ice routine evolves year to year, Bobrovsky said Tuesday, adjusting to meet the demands of his unique position in the squad.
“It’s always changing. There’s nothing steady — there are some tools that I need for my preparation, but I’m always open to new things,” he explained. “It’s lots of little things. … Hockey is a combination of everything. You have to track the puck, you have to have good agility, flexibility, strength. You know, it’s so many things to cover. You can’t cover them all — you have to choose some, choose what works for you, take what helps and throw away what doesn’t.
"I like cardio a lot, I like weight lifting, I like stretching, I do gymnastics in the summer. I do lots of things. From all kinds of sports, you can take lots of things.”
All in pursuit of one simple goal, one singular focus.
“The biggest thing for me is stopping the puck,” Bobrovsky said matter-of-factly Tuesday, asked about how he hopes to lead this team this season. “I will try to do my best to give the guys a chance to win every night — that’s my main focus.”
How veterans Paul, Sissons can impact young Cowan’s growth
While much of the focus of camp to this point has been on the arrival of young Gavin McKenna, who figures to be a pivotal figure for the club as soon as this season, the new campaign will be a crucial one for another franchise pillar of the future: Easton Cowan.
Fresh off a championship run with the AHL Marlies, the 21-year-old has been skating on a line with veterans Nick Paul and Colton Sissons at camp. Hiller envisions the two vets bringing plenty that can help Cowan take a step in 2026-27.
“You know what, even in the practice today, those two are really good forecheckers,” the coach said Tuesday of the veterans, both acquired this summer. “We would really love for Easton to develop into that type of player, too. I think he's on his path. He is definitely a little more of a skilled player. But those guys loosen up pucks, they give him opportunities to be there second, to jam it up the wall, for him to come off the wall and find the D.”
Beyond their game on the ice, the pair’s experience — Paul and Sissons have more than 1,200 big-league games between them — will be crucial, too.
“I think it's good to have those type of players around. And I also believe in just the real veteran presence of those two guys,” Hiller said. “Everybody says, 'I've got to play right' and it might be a cliche, but when you play with two veteran players who do it right, it's hard not to do it yourself.
“The coach can say it all day long, but if those two guys are saying, ‘This is how we go,’ I think that matters more.”
Hiller said he expects Paul and Sissons to alternate in terms of who plays centre and who mans the wing opposite Cowan, with both veterans bringing some positional versatility to the lineup.
“That's really what I like about what John (Chayka) did this summer — he gave us some real options,” the coach said. “You know, Nick can play left wing somewhere else, Sissons can run in the middle, we can put Sissons up in the top six, or Nick — we can do a lot of different things, having the flexibility with those guys down the middle.”
Nylander shaken up after taking shot to arm
The club got a momentary scare five minutes into Tuesday’s practice, when an early drill saw a shot from defenceman Jake McCabe hit William Nylander in the arm.
The winger looked to be in discomfort for a spell, but continued with the skate. He was seen sporting an ice pack on his right arm after the session wrapped up Tuesday, but seemed no worse for wear by the time he took to the microphone in front of the reporters attending practice.
“It’s a little sore right now, I’m not going to lie — but he did apologize,” the winger said with a chuckle. "It's okay."
The 30-year-old earned plenty of praise from his head coach after Tuesday’s session, following a pair of practices that have seen Nylander ramp up his impact on both ends of the sheet.
“I’ve always really liked Willy. You know, when I first took over as head coach in the NHL, the first player or ex-player I heard from was Willy,” Hiller said Tuesday. “I hadn't talked to him in years. It really meant something to me. So, I think we have a good relationship that way. We spent a lot of time together before, and I look forward to helping him out here.
“He wants to be so good, I know that. He trains, he does all that stuff, and some of the things we've seen out here in practice the last couple days have been really impressive. We ended the last practice on just an incredible backcheck by Willy, a stick lift all the way down. We're seeing some really, really good stuff out of him.”
Lines at Tuesday skate
Knies — Matthews — Roslovic
McKenna — Tavares — Nylander
Cowan — Paul — Sissons
Lorentz — Blueger — Duhaime
Groulx
Rielly — Raddysh
McCabe — Tanev
Ekman-Larsson — Stecher
Andrae — Blankenburg
Bobrovsky
Stolarz
