NHL Trades and Rumors

Reason Behind the Length of Maple Leafs’ Free-Agent Deals Revealed

Why did the Toronto Maple Leafs sign so many shorter-term free-agent contracts?

by
Jackson Weber
July 6, 2026

The Toronto Maple Leafs made five notable signings on July 1, the opening day of NHL free agency, and several of those moves had something interesting in common.

Three of the five—Teddy Blueger, Jack Roslovic, and Colton Sissons—were two-year contracts, while Sergei Bobrovsky and Brandon Duhaime were given an extra year of term on their respective deals.

Maple Leafs fans are well aware that there are two years left on captain Auston Matthews’ deal, and Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed during his latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast that the term on much of Toronto’s free-agent splurge was very much intentional and in alignment with that timeline.

Friedman said when asked by Kyle Bukauskas about the Los Angeles Kings positioning themselves to pounce on any superstar becoming available two years down the road:

“I think there’s something to that here. It’s also two years that you know Matthews is up, right? So I think there’s that part of it, but yes, I do think that they did that on purpose,”

The 28-year-old Matthews, of course, has two years left on the four-year, $53 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs back in 2023. He’s coming off a career-low 53-point season (27 goals, 26 assists), though he only played in 60 games.

Auston Matthews’ Maple Leafs Future

There were two directions new GM John Chayka could have gone this offseason: retool around Matthews and William Nylander in hopes of quickly returning to contention with the captain under contract, or blow it up and rebuild around Gavin McKenna.

It’s been quite obvious that he chose the former, and it’s now on Matthews and the Maple Leafs to prove this upcoming season that they are back to being contenders in the Atlantic Division.

If they do, there’s no reason to believe Matthews—who has given every indication that he wants to win in Toronto—will leave. However, if they don’t, it might even be in the best interest of the Maple Leafs to get a haul for their superstar center before it’s too late.

Next: Insider Says Maple Leafs Are Eyeing Another Difference Maker