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Darren Pang believes in the Maple Leafs’ goaltending tandem heading into next season

Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

By Michael Coyle

Jul 16, 2026, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 16, 2026, 06:36 EDT

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have their sights set on bouncing back next season.

With a new management group in place, selecting Gavin McKenna first overall, and an aggressive plan in free agency, the Maple Leafs have put themselves in a position to prove that the 2025-26 season was just an aberration from the norm.

On Wednesday, TNT’s Darren Pang joined Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill to discuss the addition of Sergei Bobrovsky, what Darren Raddysh will bring to the Maple Leafs, and how he feels about John Chayka receiving his second opportunity as a general manager.

“Sergei Bobrovsky’s going to go into a net full of pressure, and last time I looked, he was a pretty good pressure goaltender,” Pang said. “With [Anthony] Stolarz in and out with the knee injury and injuries he’s had, you have a real constant in Bobrovsky. I think they can be a really good tandem.”

The addition of Raddysh gives the Maple Leafs a right-shot defenceman with elite offensive upside that many teams covet around the league. Last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Raddysh recorded 22 goals and 48 assists, good for the seventh-most points among all NHL defencemen with 70.

Acquired in a sign-and-trade with the Lightning and subsequently signed to an eight-year contract worth $68 million, the expectation is that the Toronto native is going to jump in and provide a spark to a power play that struggled mightily last season.

“Darren Raddysh is a really good defenceman, and he’s got great character,” Pang said. “A lot of teams knocked on that door but were afraid of the price; I get it. But if the Maple Leafs say, we need a right-hand shot that’s going to run our power play and get us back on track with Auston Matthews, the dollar figure shouldn’t matter to the general public.”

The man behind all the moves has been Chayka. After a tenure in Arizona that ended unceremoniously, Keith Pelley’s decision to hire him left many wondering what led to him being placed into such a tough market.

While many of Chayka’s moves have been applauded to this point, Pang still has some concerns about his hiring due to his absence from the league.

“Honestly, I was surprised that a guy that’s been so far away from the league was in the picture, because a lot of the gentlemen that get fired or released seem to come about somewhere,” Pang said. “I didn’t hear a word after John Chayka was gone, so that was shocking to me that he was back in the league. I’ll give him his opportunity; maybe he’s learned an awful lot from what happened the first time because there were a lot of mistakes.”

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