- Maple Leafs acquire Aatu Raty from Canucks for Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr
- Raty cleared waivers earlier Thursday before the deal went through
- Read below for why Toronto waited and what he adds
The Maple Leafs have made another trade.
Toronto acquired forward Aatu Raty from the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, sending forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr the other way. The Leafs announced the deal themselves:
The timing of the deal is the interesting part. Raty cleared waivers earlier in the day, so the Leafs could have claimed him for nothing. They didn’t, and there’s a reason. Toronto already sits at the 50-contract limit, which kept them from making a claim. Trading for him after he cleared also means he can’t be waived again until he plays 10 games or spends 30 days on the roster.
That gives the Leafs some flexibility they wouldn’t have had with a claim. They can shuffle him between the NHL club and the Marlies without immediately risking losing him.
The 23-year-old center has one goal in four games with the Canucks this season. He had four goals and 14 points in 66 games last year, and he won gold with Finland at the World Championship in May. Vancouver landed him from the Islanders in the 2023 Bo Horvat trade, and he has 14 goals and 29 points in 118 career NHL games.
Faceoffs are what he does best. Raty has won 59.2 percent of his career draws, and the Leafs need center help. Max Domi is on long-term injured reserve and Dakota Joshua is week-to-week, while Chris Tanev is also week-to-week on the blue line. Toronto is 3-3-1 through seven games.
Going the other way, Quillan is 24 and has no points in four AHL games this season. He had three points in 23 games with Toronto last year. Buhr, who signed as a free agent in March after 19 goals and 36 points in 35 games at Union College, had been assigned to the ECHL earlier this month.
Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson thanked Raty in a statement and said the two young forwards give Vancouver more depth to work with.
The move also cleared a roster spot in Vancouver. The Canucks activated center Filip Chytil off injured reserve right after the trade.
