John Chayka has radically remade the Maple Leafs. Are they better for it?

One year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs made three minor transactions on the first day of free agency.On July 1, 2025, the Leafs signed Michael Pezzetta and Bo Groulx and acquired Nicolas Roy in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade. That was it for then-GM Brad Treliving’s front office.John Chayka, needless to say, has gone about things a bit differently. His first Canada Day as Leafs GM was all fireworks — one after another in a light show that radically remade the roster.Who are the top five NHL players to hit free agency?All that on top of other seismic to moderately seismic activity, including the acquisitions of Darren Raddysh and Gavin McKenna, trades of Joseph Woll, Brandon Carlo, Simon Benoit and Nick Robertson, and the cutting of ties with Matias Maccelli.Never mind the hiring of Jim Hiller as head coach.

Leafs' roster changes InOutEmil AndraeSimon BenoitTeddy BluegerBrandon CarloSergei BobrovskyDennis HildebyBrandon DuhaimeCalle JärnkrokZack MacEwenMatias MaccelliGavin McKennaNick RobertsonNick PaulJoseph WollDarren RaddyshJack RoslovicColton Sissons

These aren’t the same Leafs. But are they better?ForwardThe change here is significant.Chayka added five new players to the mix — four free agents and one trade acquisition — in Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger and Brandon Duhaime. (Plus one likely depth fill-in in Zack MacEwen.)And then of course, there’s McKenna, the first pick at the draft.The Leafs needed more speed, tenacity and defensive know-how, as well as an infusion of skill, and they’ve got it in this group to some degree.Maybe the most interesting name in the bunch (not including McKenna) is Paul, a longtime big (6-foot-4, 234 pounds) and useful role player for the Lightning, including on the team that lost in the Stanley Cup final in 2022. He struggled this past season, though, bouncing around Tampa’s lineup while registering only seven goals and 15 points in 51 games following surgery in September for an undisclosed injury that kept him out until late November.Paul played less for Jon Cooper — dropping from 16-17 minutes a night to 13 and change last season. His opportunity fell even further in the playoffs. Logging only 11 minutes a game, he failed to record a point. All this after consecutive seasons of more than 20 goals and 40 points.The Leafs are obviously betting on a bounce-back from the 31-year-old. If they get it, Paul will deliver real value (plus some edge and experience) on a contract that comes with a cap hit of only $3.15 million for this season and two more after it.Paul played a lot of left wing for the Lightning. But interestingly, according to Chayka, the Leafs view him as at least one answer, among the many they looked at, to their in-need-of-repairs centre depth.“It’s one of those positions where you never want to be caught in a position where you don’t have enough,” Chayka said. “Nick was a guy that, candidly, we weren’t sure was available.”Like Auston Matthews and John Tavares, Paul is excellent in the faceoff circle. And while it’s always a little worrisome trading with a sharp team like the Lightning, exchanging a No. 3 goalie for a middle-six forward of some kind, on a solid contract, feels like a good exchange for the Leafs.It was evident from the flurry moves that Chayka and his team were hungry to add as many centres as possible — or viable options at centre, anyhow. Blueger should fill one such hole in addition, potentially, to Paul, who also figures to see some time in the top six.The 31-year-old Blueger isn’t big, but he plays with pace and tenacity and he’s the kind of centre Hiller can bury in the defensive zone and reasonably hope to come out alive. Hiller could even pair him with Dakota Joshua, who played his best hockey in the NHL next to Blueger in Vancouver.Colton Sissons brings a worker-bee quality to the Leafs’ bottom six. (Stephen R. Sylvanie / Imagn Images)Sissons is another option for Hiller in the middle, and another worker bee for the bottom six. He’s just the kind of right-handed ace in the faceoff circle (almost 57 percent last season) the Leafs have lacked since Jason Spezza retired.That’ll be helpful on the penalty kill where he and Blueger, as well as Duhaime, figure to play prominent roles.As with just about every bottom-sixer signed on July 1, Sissons got a good chunk of change on his two-year deal. His $4.25 million cap hit is fifth-highest among Leafs forwards next season.“They’ve taken some hard minutes, some hard matchup minutes, and done pretty well in those,” Chayka said of Blueger and Sissons. “As much as it’s about them, and it is, it’s also about the top of our lineup where we can get them deployed in a way that allows them to be at their best as well.”