The Toronto Maple Leafs have been active this offseason, and they might not be done.
Toronto has been adding to its bottom-six, but didn’t add much to the top-six outside of first overall pick Gavin McKenna and potentially Jack Roslovic. Yet, NHL insider Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen reported that the Maple Leafs are showing interest in signing veteran forward Claude Giroux.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs have also spoken with Giroux’s camp and remain keenly interested, while the Edmonton Oilers made a pitch, but well-respected Sportsnet columnist Mark Spector says they’re no longer involved. The Flyers and Senators are both in the mix. Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, stated on July 1 that the Senators have an offer on the table to bring Giroux back and the door remains wide open for his return,” Garrioch wrote.
Giroux would add some veteran experience to the Maple Leafs and be a middle-six forward who can add some secondary scoring. It also wouldn’t be too expensive, as Giroux likely wants to win at this stage of his career.
Giroux recorded 14 goals and 35 assists for 49 points in 82 games last season with the Senators.
Maple Leafs GM Likes Offseason Moves
Toronto has made plenty of moves this offseason, and new GM John Chayka likes what he’s accomplished.
The Maple Leafs added more depth to the forward group, acquired star defenseman Darren Raddysh, and signed top goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. After the first wave of free agency, Chayka believes Toronto is a much better hockey team now than when the season ended.
“We did a lot of buying and selling over the last month. At times, it may not have made a lot of sense in terms of individual moves. As we thought about the bigger picture and what we want to create, it all kind of fell into place for us,” Chayka said.
“It is not just about putting a roster on paper. It is about putting it into action on the ice. 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 is now deeper, faster, bigger, heavier, and guys have some roles. We certainly feel like we are a better hockey team today as a result.”
The Maple Leafs are in a win-now window with Auston Matthews having just two years left on his deal.
Toronto’s Offseason Moves
Since the Maple Leafs have hired Chayka as their general manager, he’s been very aggressive in bolstering the roster.
The Maple Leafs’ offseason moves are as follows:
- Win the draft lottery, select Gavin McKenna first overall.
- Trade Joseph Woll, Simon Benoit to Flyers for Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae, 2026 3rd-round pick.
- Sign-and-trade for Darren Raddysh, eight-year, $68M deal.
- Trade Ersson to the Senators for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
- Trade Brandon Carlo to the Blues for 73rd and 76th overall picks in 2026 NHL Draft.
- Deals Nick Robertson to the Penguins for a 2028 fourth-round pick.
- Sign Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21M deal.
- Signs Jack Roslovic to a two-year, $8M deal.
- Inks Colton Sissons to a two-year, $8.5M deal.
- Re-sign Troy Stecher to a two-year, $2.7M deal.
- Sign Teddy Blueger to a two-year, $5M deal.
- Signs Brandon Duhaime to a three-year, $7.8M deal.
- Sign Zack MacEwen to a two-year, $1.75M deal.
- Acquire Nick Paul from Lightning for Dennis Hildeby, 2028 3rd, and 2027 4th.
- Sign Gavin McKenna to ELC.
- Signs Emil Andrae to a two-year, $3.1 million deal.
The Maple Leafs are currently over the salary cap.
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