Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday. Financial terms were not announced.
The 37-year-old goalie was 27-23-1 with a 3.07 goals-against average, .877 save percentage and four shutouts in 52 games (51 starts) for the Florida Panthers last season.
Bobrovsky helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025, defeating the Edmonton Oilers each time, going 32-15 with a 2.26 GAA, .910 save percentage and five shutouts in 47 playoff games during that span. Florida also made the Cup Final in 2023, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games.
“Sergei is a real game-changer for us in terms of the stability, the consistency, the durability,” Toronto general manager John Chayka said Wednesday. “Obviously the resume speaks for itself, could possibly end up being the best in that position of all time. And to be able to secure a player like that for this team that’s looking to break through, we feel like it was the right player at the right time, not just on the ice but certainly off the ice, the mentorship, the professionalism, again the championship pedigree. We thought about it all different angles. The full package just made a lot of sense.
“And you always have your own opinions, but to actually be able to land a player of that caliber, you know, he’s looking to win. I think it says a lot about the organization, says a lot about the ownership, and a lot about the player and the player’s leadership. You know, he really believes in these guys, which is great.”
Bobrovsky signed a seven-year, $70 million contract ($10 million average annual value) with the Panthers on July 1, 2019, and his 201 regular-season wins during that time are third in the NHL behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (228) and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (228).
“A sincere thank you to Sergei Bobrovsky for everything he has done for our organization,” Panthers GM Bill Zito said. “He was here for a long, long time. Not just on the ice, but his contribution to the community. There’s a lot of things he did for people that are not public, like sponsoring a suite for kids, his masks, other charitable things he did. Thanks to Bob.”
Signed by the Philadelphia Flyers as an undrafted free agent May 6, 2010, Bobrovsky is 456-266-58 with a 2.61 GAA, .912 save percentage and 53 shutouts in 806 regular-season games (791 starts) for the Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Panthers, ranking seventh in NHL history in wins.
Bobrovsky is 61-50 with a 2.71 GAA, .907 save percentage and six shutouts in 117 playoff games (111 starts).
He won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL in 2012-13 and 2016-17.
“When you look at him, I think it’s the body of work,” Chayka said. “I think it’s who he is, the person, it’s his habits, how he approaches the game, his body. Just an impressive guy overall. As we think about it, you know, if we’re going into a Game 7, we’re thinking about goalies and how important that position is. In a position like that, is there another goalie in the world that we’d want in net for us? And the answer would be no. We’d prefer to have Sergei Bobrovsky, and that was a big part of it.”
On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs also signed forwards Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, Jack Roslovic and Zack MacEwen to two-year contracts.
Sissons, 32, had 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 66 regular-season games for the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 22 playoff games.
Blueger, 31, had 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 35 games for the Vancouver Canucks last season.
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round (No. 22) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Blueger has 169 points (58 goals, 111 assists) in 453 regular-season games for the Penguins, Golden Knights and Canucks, and six points (two goals, four assists) in 37 playoff games.
“Knowing Toronto seems to be kind of the center of the hockey world, and then just being part of an Original Six team,” Blueger said Friday. “I know that all the guys that I’m friends with that have played there just say it’s a little bit different, carries a little more weight. And then anytime you’re even in the building and you look up at the rafters and all the retired numbers and all the history and the weight of that. And then, you know also how passionate the fans are and how much they care. I think it’s great to be doing something that people care so much about and being a part of that. I think that’s kind of a unique opportunity that you don’t get most places.”
Roslovic, 29, had 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in 69 regular-season games for the Edmonton Oilers and one assist in six playoff games last season.
MacEwan, who will turn 30 on July 8, played in three games with the New Jersey Devils last season and has played in 240 NHL games.
“Certainly a player of Sergei Brobrovsky’s caliber, I think, sends a message that we’re serious about moving this team ahead and getting back on track, and you know, trying to take it to another level,” Chayka said. “But I’d say everyone from him to the depth signings that bring us a lot of different elements and allowing our players to be put in different positions where they can have their talents come out in the best way possible. It’s a full picture, and so we needed to get better in terms of the defensive side of the game. We need to address our penalty killing, and we need to bring some more speed to the lineup, and I think if you look at the full picture, we’re a much more dynamic team today than we were, you know, 24 hours ago.”
The Maple Leafs finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference last season with 32-36-14 record and won the No. 1 selection in the NHL Draft Lottery on May 5, which they used to select forward Gavin McKenna. On May 7, Toronto hired Chayka as general manager and team legend Mats Sundin as senior executive adviser, hockey operations.
Those were the first moves in an offseason of massive change in Toronto.
On June 16, Toronto acquired goalie Samuel Ersson and defenseman Emil Andrae in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for goalie Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit. (Ersson was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Friday for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft). The next day, the Maple Leafs hired Jim Hiller as coach, replacing Craig Berube (fired May 13).
Two days later, Toronto acquired defenseman Darren Raddysh in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft. As part of the sign-and-trade move, Raddysh signed an eight-year contract with the Lightning before being sent to the Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs also traded goalie Dennis Hildeby to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Nick Paul on Wednesday.
“I think you know we did a lot of buying and selling over the last month, and at times maybe it didn’t make a lot of sense in terms of individual moves,” Chayka said. “But as we thought about kind of the bigger picture and what we’re trying to create, it all kind of lined it up for the rest. It’s not just about putting a roster on paper, it’s about putting it into action on the ice, and we felt like we got a lot of different elements to the game that we can then give our coaches now the flexibility to create a lineup that we feel like it’s now deeper, it’s faster, it’s bigger, it’s heavier, and guys have some roles, and you know we certainly feel like we’re a better hockey team today as a result.”
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report
