Teddy Blueger is one of several new faces on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster this season and is excited for the fresh start that awaits.
Blueger signed with the Maple Leafs on a two-year, $3.6 million contract on July 1, part of a forward group overhaul that also saw Colton Sissons, Jack Roslovic, Nick Paul, Brandon Duhaime and Zack MacEwen join the team, in addition to first-overall pick Gavin McKenna.
How the new-look group is deployed falls on the shoulders of new head coach Jim Hiller as the Maple Leafs look to bounce back from missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
“As the team dynamics naturally take shape, everyone fills their roles,” Blueger told NHL.com of what awaits in training camp. “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.
“Having a clean slate is also exciting because you do have a lot of really good players and an opportunity to hopefully do something.”
General manager John Chayka also made changes the team’s defence core this summer, bringing in Darren Raddysh on an eight-year deal via a sign-and-trade and shipping Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the return for blueliner Emil Andrae.
Chayka made a major splash in net on July 1, bringing in veteran Sergei Bobrovsky to pair with Anthony Stolarz and moving out Joseph Woll in the Andrae deal and Dennis Hildeby in the trade for Paul.
“There’s already some really, really great players that are there and that they’ve signed,” Blueger said. “Just hopefully be a part of a good team and just do my part to contribute.”
Blueger is already ramping up his conditioning ahead of camp as he takes part in Da Beauty League in Minnesota.
The 31-year-old centre recorded nine goals and eight assists over 35 games in 2025-26 for the Canucks, his third season in Vancouver.
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in thesecond roundof the 2012 NHL Draft, Blueger has tallied 58 goals and 111 assists over 453 career games with the Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights and Canucks.
The Riga, Latvia native won a Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023.
Toronto will open its preseason on Sept. 19 with split squad games against the Montreal Canadiens.
