The Toronto Maple Leafs have their starting goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, but what could his playing time look like this season to ensure the team gets the very best version of the veteran?
After signing a three-year, $21 million ($7 million AAV) contract with the Leafs on the opening day of free agency, it is clear that Bobrovsky will be the go-to guy for Jim Hiller during the 2026–27 season and beyond.
However, at 38 years old by the time the season begins, there remain questions over how long the two-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time Stanley Cup champion can realistically play for, especially in an expanded 84-game season.
With the Leafs needing someone to step up in net and make it their own, the hope will be that Bobrovsky can replicate what has been the trend for the majority of his career.
Bobrovsky’s historical record
For the past five seasons, Bobrovsky has not played fewer than 50 games. His highest number of appearances during that stretch came in 2023–24, when he played 58 regular-season games, finished third in Vezina voting, and ultimately lifted the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers.
In fact, Bobrovsky has been so consistent throughout his lengthy career that only four of his 16 seasons in the NHL have seen him play fewer than 50 games; 29 was the lowest single-season total of his career, back in 2011–12, in his final year with the Philadelphia Flyers.
His average over the past five seasons has seen him play around 53 games, with 31.8 wins, a goals against average of 2.71 and a save percentage of .903. If the Toronto Maple Leafs could get numbers close to this, it would solidify the position and establish Bobrovsky firmly as a smart move by General Manager John Chayka early in his tenure in charge.
Having a goaltender who can play around 50 games in a season is something most Cup contenders have, and it’s something that the Leafs have lacked for many years, with multiple seasons seeing the team run a 1A/1B tandem.
But would playing Bobrovsky that much truly benefit the Leafs?
How to best deploy Bobrovsky and the other goalies
Do the Toronto Maple Leafs realistically need Sergei Bobrovsky to play in 50+ regular season games this year?
The argument could be that they do if they want to give themselves a better chance at making the postseason in the first place. With an established veteran, particularly one with the pedigree that Bobrovsky brings, it would be better to play to the team’s strength and utilize them as much as possible.
The counterargument, however, could be that it does not truly matter how the Leafs make the playoffs this year, and that playoff performances will be much more valuable.
The Leafs have Anthony Stolarz entrenched as the team’s backup, with the 32-year-old American good to play in up to 30 games this year, coming off the back of an injury that saw him sidelined for much of the 2025–26 campaign.
Stolarz’s career high in regular-season appearances is 34, which came in the 2024–25 season that saw him finish fifth in Vezina voting and lead the Leafs to the second round of the playoffs in a strong partnership with the recently departed Joseph Woll.
Stolarz is exceptionally effective in limited games and helped win the Cup for the Panthers alongside Bobrovsky in 2024, featuring in just 27 regular-season games that year.
This means that Bobrovsky and Stolarz could comfortably play 50 and 30 games respectively, leaving four games as a toss-up between the pair. There could also be an argument that the Leafs could look to ‘load manage’ their strong tandem and give impressive youngster and reigning Calder Cup champion Artur Akhtyamov more of a look at the NHL level.
The Leafs could reduce Bobrovsky and Stolarz’s workload to 45 and 25 games, respectively, while then giving Akhtyamov around 14 games to demonstrate his capabilities and reduce the workload of the veterans, likely in the second of back-to-back games, of which the team will have 11 this year.
A 45/25/14 split seems reasonable, particularly given Bobrovsky’s age, Stolarz’s injury history, and Akhtyamov’s potential to break into the NHL after winning the playoff MVP title in the AHL this past season.
Even if this is adjusted to give Bobrovsky more starts, pushing Akhtyamov down to around 10 games, it still ensures all goaltenders get time while managing health throughout the year. Having all three goaltenders fit and ready for the playoffs can set the team up for success right out of the gate and is an absolute necessity with Chayka going firmly down the retool route.
