The Toronto Maple Leafs were one of the most active teams in the NHL this past offseason and new general manager John Chayka is getting the seal of approval from his captain Auston Matthews.
During a 1-on-1 discussion with Ryan Leslie on the Maple Leafs' YouTube channel, Matthews ended up commenting on just how active Chayka has been this summer as they get set to start this extremely crucial 2026-27 season.
Matthews to Ryan Leslie: "I’m really happy with what they’ve done throughout the summer. They guys that we’ve brought in, new faces, change is inevitable … there’s a lot more changeover this year than past. But I think it’s exciting." #Leafs
— Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) September 15, 2026
"I'm really happy with what they've done throughout the summer," Matthews said. "The guys they we've brought in, new faces, change is inevitable. ... There's a lot more changeover this year than past but I think it's exciting."
We're excited too.
The Maple Leafs have really had a massive roster changeover, as the captain mentions. It might not be at the top of the lineup, but the free agent acquisitions of Colton Sissons, Jack Roslovic, Brandon Duhaime, and Teddy Blueger has solidified the forward depth to an unbelievable amount. The Leafs' trade to acquire Nick Paul from the Lightning is one of the most underrated moves of the summer around the NHL. And of course, on the blue line acquiring some real puckmovers like big-time free agent Darren Raddysh and trading for Emil Andrae, should provide so much more dynamism to the back end for next season.
Oh, and they signed future Hall-of-Fame goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, too.
It's an amount of new players that feels dizzying while also keeping the vast majority of the core players in-tact. And then the best acquisition of them all might be landing the first-overall pick and being able to select a potential gamechanger in Gavin McKenna.
All of these moves could lead to so much more success, but they are also transactions with a single focus in mind.
Maple Leafs' activity has been all because of Matthews
It's extremely interesting to hear Matthews comment on these moves, because they really are all for him. Notably, Matthews is under contract in Toronto for two more seasons. Outside of Raddysh and Bobrovsky, the Leafs did not acquire any player who is signed beyond that 2028-29 season. It's a clear direction and plan from Chayka that he kept flexibility at the forefront when it came to this offseason.
If Matthews decides to leave Toronto, because this roster changeover has not worked and he doesn't want to hang around long enough to see McKenna blossom into his prime, then the Leafs can offload a whole lot of these players with these short-term commitments.
Everything really happened just because of the uncertainty of Matthews and the need to still push to remain competitive with this core together. So, we really hope the Leafs captain is liking what he's seeing because it could mean if he's staying or not.
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