Two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie Sergei Bobrovsky agreed to a three-year, $21 million contract with the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, leaving Florida behind and filling a long-unaddressed need for Toronto hours into the NHL’s free agent signing period.
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At 37, Bobrovsky joins an Auston Matthews-led team seeking to transition on the fly under a new coach and new general manager, and coming off a draft in which it selected Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick. The Leafs bottomed out last year by finishing last in the Atlantic Division following a nine-year playoff run.
Though nearly a decade removed from winning the Vezina Trophy for a second time as the NHL’s top goalie with Columbus in 2017, Bobrovsky is regarded as an upgrade for a Leafs team that’s gone through a carousel of goalies, including five alone last season. He reunites with Anthony Stolarz, after the tandem helped the Panthers win the Cup in 2024.
Bobrovsky spent the past seven years in Florida, where his production dropped last season in part due to a rash of injuries depleting the Panthers’ lineup. With a 27-23-1 record, his 27 wins were the third-fewest in a season he appeared in 50 or more games, and his 3.07 goals-against average matched the second-highest of his 16-year career.
He was regarded as one of the top prized players available in a thin pool of free agents, and wasn’t the only goalie on the move.
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Stuart Skinner is heading to Winnipeg after agreeing on a two-year contract worth $7.5 million with the Jets, who have been listening to trade offers for three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck. Skinner helped Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and ’25 before losing to Florida each time, and spent the end of last season in Pittsburgh.
With Bobrovsky set to depart, the Panthers earlier this week traded for goalies Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid.
They also signed rugged defenseman Radko Gudas, who just turned 36, to a six-year deal worth $1.5 million annually for a total of $9 million. The 36-year-old Gudas played in Florida for three seasons from 2020-23 and spent last season with Anaheim.
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