The Toronto Maple Leafs did a whole lot this summer. New general manager John Chayka was busy putting his mark on the team by making trades and signing a whole lot of free agents. That activity has earned them the unofficial title of the most improved team in the entire NHL.
According to Off The Rush, a data-focused social media account that covers the NHL, the Maple Leafs have made the biggest improvements to their roster out of all 32 teams in the league.
Most improved teams in the NHL for the 26-27 season by pSPAR added from the end of last season: pic.twitter.com/4KPSaKcgLp
— Off The Rush (@OTRHockey) September 7, 2026
They measure this by Projected Standing Points Above Replacement, a fancy term for just how many points in the standings a player is projected to add more than just the base-level player in today's NHL. With a total of 9.47 pSPAR added from the Leafs this offseason, that is well above anyone else. The New Jersey Devils came in second with 8.54; the Washington Capitals came in third with 7.56, and the New York Rangers came in fourth with 5.04.
More importantly, no one in the Leafs' own division added even close to as much as the Leafs did this summer. The Boston Bruins, with just 2.79 pSPAR added, is the next closest. Remarkably, the model views the Florida Panthers as just inching a little bit better with just 0.97 pSPAR added -- and considering that even though they added Brady Tkachuk, they did lose Evan Rodrigues, Mackie Samoskevich, and AJ Greer; those are all crucial depth pieces. It makes sense.
Now, the Leafs can walk away knowing that at least one number thinks that they are going to be so much better than last season.
Maple Leafs were busy this summer adding talent
Led by the sign-and-trade of Darren Raddysh, the Maple Leafs really brought in so many interesting and potentially impactful pieces to add to this roster. Sergei Bobrovsky adds some clarity in between the pipes, the trade of Nick Paul is a big one for the depth, and more and more forwards like Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime, will raise that floor.
Even someone like Emil Andrae, who the Leafs got from the Philadelphia Flyers in the Joseph Woll trade, could make a massive difference. Getting someone capable of actually moving the puck up the ice from the blue line could be big.
With those additions, the players that the Leafs got rid of in the summer were Matias Maccelli, Nick Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok, Brandon Carlo, Simon Benoit, and the afforementioned Woll. It's a lot of pieces moving out but were any that impactful? Possibly not.
It's a somewhat exciting and somewhat nervewracking time to be a Leafs fan. We can be happy that this number shows something, while also being extremely hesitant it means absolutely anything.
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