Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has money to burn this offseason, and on Wednesday at noon, once free agency opens, Chayka should be checking in on free-agent forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Colton Sissons.

The Maple Leafs have spots in the lineup for both. Arvidsson and Sissons bring very different games to the table, and there’s holes in Toronto’s lineup they could easily fill. Let’s start with Arvidsson, the hard-working winger could slot in and play among the Maple Leafs’ top three lines. He’s coming off a stellar season in Boston, appearing in 69 games, with 29 goals and 54 points, while playing 14:35 of ice-time per game.

Arvidsson, 33, is a right-handed shot winger, who can play either side of the rink, but could fit nicely as the Maple Leafs’ third line right-winger. He’d help provide speed and tenacity to the lineup, help balance things out with another right-shot forward, and he’s a vet that can be moved up and down the lineup should an injury take place, or if one of Easton Cowan or Gavin McKenna struggle throughout points of next season. Arvidsson proved last season he can still put the puck in the net, and the Leafs could use some more secondary scoring among their middle six.

Arvidsson isn’t going to deliver open-ice bone-crushing hits or drop his gloves at centre ice in his first game, but he’s going to play hard in all three zones, he’ll battle it out for those 50-50 pucks, and he’ll rarely take a shift off when it comes to his motor. There are also some ties to the Leafs that can’t be ignored here. Arvidsson is very familiar with William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson from their days together with Sweden’s national program, and the 33-year-old winger also played for Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller as a member of the Los Angeles Kings back in 2023-2024.

Chayka has over $22 million in cap space to work with and could likely get a deal done with Arvidsson around the three-year mark, at $5-5.5 million AAV. With 91 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience, 682 career regular season games, a skillset and profile that fits in perfectly for the Maple Leafs third line, and a ton of familiarity with several members of the Leafs organization, including the new head coach. Arvidsson would be a great fit in Toronto and should be someone on Chayka’s radar.

Let’s turn our attention to one of Arvidsson’s longest-tenured teammates in Nashville, Colton Sissons. He currently plays for the Vegas Golden Knights and is a right-handed shot forward, something Chayka needs more of, and a defensive-minded centre, who can play bottom six minutes for the Maple Leafs, and make a serious impact.

Sissons is coming off a great Stanley Cup Playoffs, making a significant bottom-six impact throughout the Golden Knights recent run to the Stanley Cup Final. The 32-year-old centre averaged 13:48 of ice-time during the postseason for Vegas, which was up from his 12:29 he played during the regular season. The stakes were higher and the Golden Knights leaned into the veteran Sissons even more down the stretch.

Sissons went 57% in the faceoff dot during the playoffs, which was spot on consistent to his efficiency during the regular season. He also chipped in with eight points in 22 postseason games, after recording 11 points in 66 games during the 2025-26 campaign. Sissons wouldn’t be brought to Toronto to put up points; he’d be signed to shut down opponents.

The right-handed center is above average in the faceoff dot, he’s not afraid to do whatever it takes to sacrifice his body to help his team win, either blocking shots, or landing big hits at crucial times, and with his experience in the league, understands exactly what his role is, and commits 100% to doing it at the best of his abilities. Sissons is a gamer, he’s something the Leafs are missing on their current roster, and he’d give Chayka a bottom-six, right-handed centre, who can slide to the wing when needed, and understands his assignment, every single night. Physical, hard-nosed, and tough to play against.

Both Sissons nor Arvidsson won’t cost Chayka an arm and a leg, and even though the Leafs’ GM wants to continue to reshape his blueline, these are the types of low-to-middle of the pack signings that can push a team over the hump. With Gavin McKenna coming in, and with another season of development for Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan, most of the top-six spots in the lineup are accounted for. Arvidsson would push for a second-line spot, while Sissons would be an option on either the third, or fourth-line centre position, and admittedly, he’s much better suited as the fourth-line centre, and we wouldn’t want to be asking too much out of the vet.

Sissons and Arvidsson are former teammates, who happen to profile perfectly to fit into the Maple Leafs lineup heading into next season and beyond. They’d be affordable free-agent options in a very underwhelming class of forwards, and Chayka could get them signed on likely three-year deals, that don’t crush Toronto’s cap flexibility moving forward.