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Leafs’ Teddy Blueger drops high praise for Toronto after signing 2-year contract
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- Leafs’ Teddy Blueger drops high praise for Toronto after signing 2-year contract
Leafs' Teddy Blueger drops high praise for Toronto after signing 2-year contract appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to rebound from a disastrous 2025-26 campaign, and the roster looks much different than the one that finished dead last in the Atlantic Division last season.
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Teddy Blueger is one of several new faces in Toronto after signing a two-year, $5 million contract on July 1, and the veteran center didn't hide his excitement about joining hockey's biggest market after spending the previous three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks .
"Just because you really feel it in the culture, and the people are really passionate about hockey," the Latvian said after making his 2026 debut in Da Beauty League in Minnesota on Wednesday, per NHL.com's Heather Rule.
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"I feel like Toronto's the center of that because obviously it's an Original Six team."
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The Maple Leafs own one of hockey's richest histories, winning 13 Stanley Cups, but they haven't lifted the trophy since 1967. Blueger will look to help change that after recording 17 points in 35 games with the Canucks in 2025-26.
Blueger is just one piece of an aggressive offseason for new general manager John Chayka. Toronto also acquired Darren Raddysh from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a sign-and-trade after his breakout campaign while bringing in two-time Stanley Cup champion Sergei Bobrovsky , Nick Paul , Jack Roslovic and Emil Andrae . The club also selected Penn State standout Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and the projected franchise cornerstone is expected to step directly into the team's top six.
The Atlantic Division isn't getting any easier, but on paper, the Maple Leafs already look much improved. Blueger should help address one of Toronto's biggest weaknesses from last season. Long regarded as one of the NHL's better defensive forwards, the 31-year-old is expected to play a key role on the penalty kill and in the bottom six.
"As the team dynamics naturally take shape, everyone fills their roles," he added, per Rule. "If guys are able to jell well together, that usually leads to a successful team. I think it's just like any workplace. It takes time to jell and get to know each other and build that chemistry and camaraderie.
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"Having a clean slate is also exciting because you do have a lot of really good players and an opportunity to hopefully do something."
With a revamped roster and renewed expectations, the Maple Leafs are betting the changes made this offseason will be enough to return to playoff contention in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference.
