Division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, cut goaltender Jonas Johansson on Wednesday to make room for a former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.
The former prospect in question is Dennis Hildeby.
Johansson has a $1.25M cap hit. If he ends up in the AHL, that drops to a $25,000 cap hit. https://t.co/QQhIYNxAsa
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) September 23, 2026
As you may recall, the Maple Leafs shipped Hildeby out on July 1 after signing Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Leafs sent Hildeby, along with a 2028 third-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder, for Nick Paul.
The move was a necessary evil for the Leafs, as it seemed clear that the goalie tandem moving forward would be Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz. And with Artur Akhtyamov emerging as the number-one guy with the Marlies, Hildeby became expendable in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the Lightning wanted someone more reliable behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. And the 6’7” Hildeby fit that mold. The former Leafs fourth-rounder also came with a very manageable deal: two more years at $841K. For the cap-stapped Lightning, the move made sense.
And for the Leafs, the move also made sense.
John Chayka had been looking to recreate the bottom six with guys who could provide a lot more depth and support to the top six. While adding Nick Paul wasn’t exactly a mind-shocking move, if the 31-year-old can recapture the success he found a couple of seasons ago in Tampa, the Maple Leafs may just have themselves a solid role player.
The Mississauga native scored 20 goals in back-to-back seasons before running into an injury-filled campaign last season.
Maple Leafs bet on “Bob,” Stolarz when they traded Hildeby
At one point, it looked like Hildeby could have a chance to become a long-term fixture for the Maple Leafs. At 24, he has the makings of the sort of goalie who could still have significant upside.
That was the case. But it changed with Akhtyamov’s incredible run in the Calder Cup playoffs last season. The Russian netminder suddenly made a case for himself as the Maple Leafs’ goalie of the future and, well, Hildeby in limbo.
Mainly, the club faced a decision. Since it seemed that Anthony Stolarz was immovable, the team bet on a Bobrovsky-Stolarz tandem to take over this season.
That would have either left Hildeby as the backup in the AHL or sitting somewhere in LaLa Land.
But there was one other crucial factor that ultimately sealed Hildeby’s fate: He was waivers-eligible this season.
As such, Hildeby would have had to clear waivers in order for the Maple Leafs to send him down to the AHL. And there was a fat chance of the Swedish netminder clearing. That’s why the decision came down to either trading him or risking losing Hildeby for nothing.
The decision was clear, and the Leafs made the right call.
If the Bobrovsky-Stolarz bet pays off, well, Chayka will look like a genius. But if the duo struggles, there will surely be plenty of questions surrounding one of the most eyebrow-raising decisions of Chayka’s tenure in Toronto.
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