- Teddy Blueger spoke Wednesday about joining the new-look Maple Leafs
- The veteran center weighed in on the hype following No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna to Toronto
- Read below for what Blueger said about the rookie spotlight and the Leafs’ clean slate
Teddy Blueger is not sweating the noise that follows Gavin McKenna into Toronto.
The veteran center, who signed a two-year contract with the Maple Leafs on July 1, was asked Wednesday what the No. 1 pick is walking into as an 18-year-old rookie in that market.
“Anytime you get a No. 1 overall pick, there’s a lot of hype, a lot of excitement and a lot of attention. Most of the time, those guys deliver.”
Blueger, who made those comments to NHL.com, watched McKenna post 14 points in seven games for Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championship. He expects the winger to bring “a lot of skill, a lot of excitement.”
The part he is curious about is everything around the hockey. Blueger said teammates in Toronto have already warned him about the volume of cameras pointed at the kid.
“I think obviously the attention that he’s getting, just the media attention from what I’ve heard from guys in Toronto, it’ll be a little bit different. That’ll be interesting to see firsthand.”
That attention started long before camp. Check out the first look at McKenna in full Leafs gear and his new No. 92:
McKenna has handled the buildup well so far, telling reporters at the Rookie Showcase that he got lucky landing in Toronto instead of a rebuilding team.
Blueger turns 32 on Aug. 15. He put up 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 35 games with Vancouver last season, has 453 regular season games between Pittsburgh, Vegas and the Canucks, won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023 and played for Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Asked about walking into a room stuffed with new faces, he framed it as an advantage rather than a problem.
“Having a clean slate is also exciting because you do have a lot of really good players and an opportunity to hopefully do something.”
Toronto earned that clean slate the hard way after an eighth-place finish in the Atlantic Division. John Chayka took over as general manager on May 3, Mats Sundin came aboard as executive senior adviser the same day, and Jim Hiller was hired as head coach on June 17.
The roster turned over just as fast. Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year deal to take the net, Darren Raddysh arrived on an eight-year contract in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay, Nick Paul came over in a separate Lightning deal, and Brandon Duhaime, Jack Roslovic and Colton Sissons all signed in free agency.
Even the staff behind the scenes looks different. The Leafs brought in Sidney Crosby’s longtime strength coach, Andy O’Brien, to run their sport performance department, and he shows up with four Stanley Cup rings from his time with Pittsburgh and Florida:
Wednesday’s comments came after his 2026 debut in Da Beauty League, the Minnesota summer circuit running its final season at Braemar Arena in Edina.
He will slot into the bottom six once camp opens, and his job is to make that group harder to play against than it was a year ago.
