Maple Leafs land Aatu Räty from the Canucks

This is a small trade with one strange detail. Toronto wanted Räty badly enough to give up 2 bodies for him, but couldn't take him for free off the waiver wire.

Chris Johnston

@reporterchris

The #leafs acquire Aatu Räty from Vancouver for Brandon Buhr and Jacob Quillan.

Räty is a known name for a depth guy. The Islanders took him 52nd overall in 2021, and he has played 118 NHL games across parts of 5 seasons, with 14 goals and 15 assists. Last year was his first full season, 66 games for Vancouver with 4 goals and 14 points. This year he had played 4 games with a goal on about 10 minutes a night before the Canucks put him on waivers. He is not a scorer. He wins draws, about 60.2% of them over the last 2 seasons, and that's what a team wants from a bottom-6 centre.

So why didn't Toronto just claim him? The Leafs were already at the 50-contract limit, so putting in a claim wasn't an option. Trading 2 contracts for 1 gets him and also clears a spot.

PuckPedia

@PuckPedia

The #Leafs were at the max 50 contracts, so they were unable to claim Raty on waivers. This trade allows them to also drop to 49 contracts t.co/gG2oRpjZ3A

PuckPedia@PuckPedia

🚨 Trade To #Leafs Aatu Raty 23 y/o F, Yr 2/2 $850K - RFA To #Canucks Jacob Quillan 24 y/o F, Yr 1/1 $850K - UFA G6 Brandon Buhr 24 y/o F, Yr 1/1 $975K - RFA TOR adds $850K net cap hit. Raty was then sent down so no net cap impact t.co/sBTm76xwpK

The money barely changes either. Räty is on the last year of a deal paying $850K, the same as Quillan, and Buhr makes $975K. Clearing waivers means Räty can move between the NHL and AHL freely until he plays 10 NHL games or spends 30 days on the roster, and PuckPedia says he was sent down right after the trade, so the Leafs' cap doesn't move at all. That's a clean bit of roster work from Toronto.

Vancouver didn't just take whatever was left either. Quillan is a 24-year-old from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and he just won the Calder Cup with the Marlies. He has 74 points in 114 AHL games and 3 points in 24 NHL games with Toronto. The Canucks seem to care more about Buhr, though, and he's a local story.

Rick Dhaliwal

@DhaliwalSports

Canucks acquire centre Jacob Quillan and F Brandon Buhr from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Aatu Räty. Buhr is from North VAN and the Canucks tried hard to get him last year when he left Union College, they like this player a lot. Buhr will start in Kalamazoo.

Buhr signed his entry-level deal with Toronto in March after 4 NCAA seasons, 1 at Clarkson and 3 at Union, where he scored 19 goals in each of his last 2 years and made ECAC all-star teams in both 2025 and 2026. Vancouver went after him when he left school, lost out to Toronto, and got him 7 months later anyway. GM Ryan Johnson said the deal gives the Canucks 2 new young players to work with as they keep trying to improve their depth.

Thomas Drance

@ThomasDrance

Spoke with Ryan Johnson about the Aatu Räty trade, with additional insights from @reporterchris and I on how this minor deal came together. For the #Canucks it came down to two related things: fit, and speed. Open for all via @TheAthleticNHL: t.co/OGXWpaZy1u

Nobody will call this a franchise-changing trade, and it isn't one. Toronto gets a cheap centre who wins faceoffs and can be stashed in the AHL until it needs him, plus an open contract slot. Vancouver gets a Calder Cup winner and a B.C. kid it already wanted. The thing to watch is how soon Räty gets called up. He's a lot more useful taking draws for the Leafs than sitting with the Marlies.