Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Ryan Hardy explained why the team signed Sergei Bobrovsky on the first day of free agency.
The Maple Leafs gave Bobrovsky — the two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers and two-time Vezina Trophy winner with the Columbus Blue Jackets — a three-year, $21 million contract on the first day of free agency.
With the Maple Leafs trading away Dennis Hildeby to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Nick Paul, the team will go with a tandem of Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz in net next year — the same tandem that backstopped the Panthers to the Stanley Cup in 2024.
Ryan Hardy Explains Why Maple Leafs Signed Sergei Bobrovsky
Speaking on TSN’s OverDrive, Hardy explained why the Maple Leafs made signing Bobrovsky a priority the second that free agency opened up.
“Free agency is always difficult to predict. Over the last couple of seasons, the tandem of Stolarz and Joseph Woll, when everyone was healthy, was a really good tandem for us. If you look back on the versions of the team in the years prior, maybe, if we had those two guys — and maybe (Chris Tanev), or a guy like that — maybe our fortunes could have been different. I think we had a great 1A/1B tandem. Dennis is a great goalie who had been really developing nicely for us and played great in the NHL in the situation he was in this season. We had these four guys, including (prospect Artur Akhtyamov), of course, who were good,” Hardy said (via Maple Leafs Hot Stove).
“There was the opportunity to bring in Sergei Bobrovsky, a guy whose training, preparation, and the way he takes care of himself is sort of legendary, and who has been a partner with Stolarz before. For Sergei to come in and join us as a guy with two Stanley Cups under his belt… I thought it was cool.”
Maple Leafs’ Young Players Look up to Sergei Bobrovsky
Hardy also said that the Maple Leafs’ young players look up to Bobrovsky, noting that No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna said that Bobrovsky can have No. 72 no problem, while fellow Russian goalie Akhtyamov looked up to Bobrovsky as a child.
“Gavin was asked about the number today. He deferred and referred to Sergei as a two-time champion, and he showed the respect there. The guys in our room have a presence like that behind them, and he and Stolie have had a great dynamic. And there is the emergence of Arty. We don’t win the Calder Cup without the performance he had. That made a lot of sense. For the mentorship component of Bob and Arty, that is something that was built in as fellow countrymen. I am sure, when Arty was a boy, he looked up to Bob. That should be awesome for his development. I just think it is so great for our dressing room to have a guy like that in there backstopping us. I think it will be a really good dynamic for those guys.” Hardy said.
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