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What Aatu Räty Brings to the Maple Leafs
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- What Aatu Räty Brings to the Maple Leafs
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Before Thursday's loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the Toronto Maple Leafs made an interesting trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
The trade sent forward Jacob Quillan and defenseman Brandon Buhr to Vancouver for center Aatu Räty . The 23-year-old from Finland was a second-round pick (52nd overall) of the New York Islanders in the 2021 Draft. The Islanders traded him to the Canucks as part of the Bo Horvat blockbuster, along with forward Anthony Beauvillier and the 17th-overall pick in the 2023 Draft, which they flipped to acquire Filip Hronek.
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After two-and-a-half years bouncing between Vancouver and the Abbotsford Canucks, including winning the 2024-25 Calder Cup, Raty spent all of the 2025-26 season playing in the NHL. However, after a goal in four games to start the year, he passed through waivers before the trade with the Maple Leafs. So, what kind of player has general manager John Chayka acquired?
What Räty Offers
At face value, Räty is a fourth-line player who only has 14 goals and 15 assists in 118 regular-season games in the NHL. For a former second-round pick, this may raise eyebrows, but Chayka is someone who leans on analytics, and the Finnish center's value lies elsewhere.
Standing at 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, Räty is a physical player who has developed into almost an exclusively defensive forward, averaging 58% defensive zone starts across his career. Last season, he made 63.7% of his starts in his own zone, with that jumping to 68.6% this year. He throws his body around comfortably, putting up 165 hits in 66 games in his only full season in the NHL, with 80 in 33 games the previous year.
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What makes Räty a defensively valuable center at the NHL level is his performances in the faceoff circle. Across his career, he has never dropped below a 52.2% success rate, and in 777 draws last season, he won 60.5%. By comparison, Teddy Blueger has a career average of 49.9% success on faceoffs. Räty, meanwhile, has averaged 59.2%, and in his minimal appearances this year, he has performed better than Blueger, at 56.8% to 45.5%.
He is likely to begin his tenure in Toronto with the Marlies, but injuries or performances could see a change made. With the Maple Leafs struggling to keep the puck out of the net, the need to make changes on the fourth line could come sooner rather than later. Having the bottom line help with shot suppression, maintaining possession, and making life difficult for opposing teams, Räty could offer the Leafs plenty.
For Vancouver, Räty had a Corsi rating of 44.3%, with a relative Corsi rating of -1.4%. Blueger's rating for the Leafs has been 27.5%, which is a relative rating of -22.3%. Räty is also over eight years younger than the Latvian and is significantly cheaper. Blueger is signed for two seasons at a $2.5 million AAV, while Räty is an impending restricted free agent with a cap hit of just $850,000 .
He does have some offensive potential, which he has shown on the international stage, having scored four goals and added three assists in 10 games for Team Finland at this year's World Championships.
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With Chayka's analytics background, the trade makes sense for the team's center depth. With John Tavares leaving the Leafs' 5-4 OT loss to Buffalo after a collision with Josh Norris, and with no updates on his situation, the trade could have come at the perfect time. Räty has a particular skill set, and other factors, including his age and financials, could find him a place on the Maple Leafs' roster.
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