Vyacheslav Peksa has signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan after Toronto had already allowed his NHL rights to expire, while Dennis Hildeby was traded to Tampa Bay for Nick Paul. That leaves Artur Akhtyamov as the only young goalie in the organization currently close to an NHL role.
It was announced via social media that Ak Bars Kazan had signed former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending prospect Vyacheslav Peksa to a one-year, two-way deal that runs through until May 31, 2027.
Peksa had been with the team on a PTO prior to the signing, though has been loaned out to Neftyanik Almetievsk of the VHL to start the year.
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Hildeby's trade and Peksa's departure to Russia changed Toronto's goalie depth this offseason
Peksa, 23, appeared in 12 games for the Toronto Marlies in 2025-26, where he registered a 4-4-0 record with a 3.78 GAA and .869 SV%. His prior stint in the Marlies didn't go as well either with him recording a 0-1-0 record, a 3.77 GAA and .878 SV% in two appearances during the 2024-25 season.
He fared much better in the ECHL with Cincinnati as he recorded a 12-14-3 record with a 2.68 GAA and .904 SV% in 2024-25.
But with him now leaving permanently for Russia, and Dennis Hildeby traded earlier this offseason in a package to acquire Nick Paul from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the entire depth of the Maple Leafs crease changed.
Artur Akhtyamov is the young goalie in town who now has a lot more pressure on him as the full-time starter for the Marlies. They have other names like Ken Appleby and Samuel Hlavaj to provide backup help for him, but they do not carry the same NHL-ready profile Hildeby had after 26 career NHL games and nearly 100 AHL appearances.
His trade removed the most experienced young goalie from Toronto's depth chart.
Toronto did add Juuso Ainasto and Patriks Plumins in the 2026 draft, but both are long-term projects rather than immediate NHL depth. That makes Akhtyamov's development more important in the short term because there is now a much larger gap between him and the next wave.
Akhtyamov now carries the full weight of Toronto's future goaltending bet
While the Maple Leafs certainly cleaned house this offseason, a lot of that was due to the arrival of Sergei Bobrovsky, as the team needed to clear space and money for him. He's a gamble considering he's coming off the worst season of his career, and already approaching 38.
But with the Maple Leafs relying on aging veterans to help steer the shiop, Akhtyamov is now going to be viewed as the undisputed next in line. There's less NHL-ready depth behind him, so if either Bobrovsky or Anthony Stolarz goes down - it's Ahktyamov's turn.
He doesn't get the luxury of having Hildeby step in, and with his MVP performance in the Calder Cup Playoffs last season - the Maple Leafs may want to see what he can offer on a grander stage.
It's always better to have a surplus of goalies than not, and while you don't typically see three goalies at the NHL level, making sure that your starters are going to be insulated in case of emergency - and Toronto is betting a lot that those emergencies never occur.
Toronto still has veteran depth behind Bobrovsky and Stolarz, but the young-goalie ladder has changed dramatically.
Hildeby is gone, Peksa is no longer under Toronto's control, and Ainasto and Plumins are years away. That leaves Akhtyamov in a unique position: he is no longer just one of several goalie prospects pushing upward, he is the clear bridge between the veteran NHL tandem and the next generation.
Do you think the Maple Leafs have enough goaltending depth behind Bobrovsky/Stolarz?
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