For the last 23 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on Dobber Hockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are taken into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

** Be sure to pick up your copy of the 2026-2027 Fantasy Hockey Guide **

Gone: Joseph Woll, Dennis Hildeby, Brandon Carlo, Simon Benoit, Matias Maccelli, Nicholas Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok.

Incoming: Darren Raddysh, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jack Roslovic, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons, Nick Paul, Brandon Duhaime, Zack MacEwen, Emil Andrae.

Impact of Changes: Off the jump, a clear distinction should be established with this Toronto club and the flurry of moves its front-office made this summer: a separation of what the transactions mean in terms of results in the Atlantic Division standings, and what the additions look like from a fantasy hockey perspective.

Just because newly-minted and much maligned general manager John Chayka wasn't shy about spending (a lot of) money on Raddysh and Bobrovsky, or about making his mark with several expensive bottom-six splashes, doesn't immediately translate into a return to Eastern Conference relevancy for The Buds. If anything, it's ramped the pressure in Toronto back up to nauseous-like levels, meaning a slow start for this mentally fragile core could be disastrous – especially when factoring in a revamped Florida Panthers group, an improving Buffalo Sabres side, and a dangerous Montreal Canadiens club all ready to do damage.

The other elephant in the room is how crooked the backend was last season for the Leafs, with Toronto allowing the second-most goals-against in the NHL at an alarming number of 295 (for context, only the woeful Vancouver Canucks allowed more) while giving up the most shots-against per game at 32.4.

However, say what you will about overpaying Colton Sissons and bringing in a number of names with similar expected output in Nick Paul, Jack Roslovic, and even Teddy Blueger, Chayka's roll of the dice with Raddysh's first big payday and banking on a bounce-back from Bob has the Leafs sitting with a legit top-pairing defenseman and steadying number one goalie for the first time in a decade. Whether the Toronto detractors like it or not, on paper, this is a much-improved team and we haven't even discussed its main strength in the top-six forward group loaded with fantasy value.

Ready For Full Time: Unless you've been living under a rock or in a Justin Bieber-free algorithm, you're likely well aware the Leafs miraculously fandangled Gavin McKenna with the number one pick, making him as a lock for a section of this nature. Although, much like all of the attractive-on-paper moves we touched on above, the mere addition of top-end talent doesn't necessarily mean fantasy boom for a player in McKenna who needs to earn his ice time while carving out a spot in a veteran-laden lineup in Toronto – especially with new bench boss Jim Hiller's defense-first approach, it might take some time before we truly see what McKenna can do.

With all of that said, a realistic projection for McKenna's output is 20-25 goals and roughly 30-35 helpers, so make sure you don't reach on him in redraft leagues. If he sticks with Matthews and forms some offensive chemistry with a prime bounce-back fantasy candidate in Toronto's captain, Mckenna's output could easily outpace that relatively modest projection.

Two other names to consider here would have to be winger Easton Cowan and the intriguing 6-foot-2 Russian netminder Artur Akhtyamov. Cowan's path has been a much more publicized narrative, so for the sake of finding a fantasy diamond in the rough, we want to show some love to a goaltender in Akhtyamov who's really caught the eye of more dedicated fantasy hockey heads looking to stash a goalie for the future.

Of course, the three-year deal handed to Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz currently cemented as the Leafs' number two option makes Akhtyamov a deep cut, but sharp GMs don't slip or sleep on opportunities to nab a legit netminder in today's NHL. In 17 games for the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan as a 21-year-old, Akhtyamov rocked a .921 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average to only move across the pond and carry Toronto's AHL affiliate to a Calder Cup victory in the spring with a 15-7-0 record and .923 SV%. If Stolarz struggles or, more likely, is dealt yet another injury blow, Akhtyamov will make his mark on the NHL sooner than later. Stash 'em in a keeper league and thank us later.

Fantasy Outlook: Auston Matthews. William Nylander. Matthew Knies. Darren Raddysh. Four players that will not be on draft boards much after the third or fourth round, so separate what you think the Leafs may or may not do in the standings and lock in on the fact that the four names listed are impact fantasy pieces GMs want regardless of format.

Knies is a prototypical power forward who beautifully covers peripherals in banger leagues, Willy is a perennial 90-95-point threat, Raddysh on the low end brings 45-50 points from the blue line with one of the best slappers in the game, and Matthews is once again lining up to be an excellent buy-low target that might fall out of the first round completely in leagues with fewer GMs. Don't be shy about dipping into Toronto's roster early and often, at the very least, this group is going to score goals this season with regularity.

Overall Grade: A- (Last year was B-)