NHL EDGE stats: Bobrovsky solidifies Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup Playoffs hopes

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at three underlying reasons Sergei Bobrovsky could bounce back with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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EDGE STATS COVERAGE:

Offseason news:

B. Tkachuk to FLA

Markstrom to FLA

McKenna to TOR

Raddysh to TOR

Dorofeyev to NYR

Tuch, Kyrou to WSH

Byram to CHI

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1. Quality starts

The Maple Leafs signed Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner (2013, 2017) and back-to-back Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers (2024, 2025), to a three-year contract July 1. Bobrovsky, who will turn 38 years old on Sept. 20, reunites with former teammate Anthony Stolarz to give Toronto a new-look, high-upside goalie tandem to go along with other key offseason additions in forward Gavin McKenna (No. 1 pick in 2026 NHL Draft) and defenseman Darren Raddysh (acquired from Tampa Bay Lightning).

Toronto missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026 but had previously qualified in nine straight postseasons (2017 to 2025). Bobrovsky, meanwhile, leads the NHL in quality starts over the past three postseasons combined (28; starts with greater than .900 save percentage) -- even though the Panthers missed the playoffs last season. Over the past three regular seasons combined, Bobrovsky ranks seventh in in quality starts (88).

Among active goalies, Bobrovsky leads the NHL in career starts (791), shutouts (53), 20-win seasons (13) and ranks second in 30-win seasons (eight) behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (nine). Bobrovsky has the seventh-most wins in NHL history (456; most among active goalies) and needs four more to pass Henrik Lundqvist for sixth on the all-time list. Bobrovsky ranks second among active goalies in both career playoff wins (61; behind Vasilevskiy’s 70) and career playoff shutouts (six; behind Vasilevskiy’s eight).

2. Even-strength save percentage

During the 2024-25 regular season (two seasons ago), Bobrovsky was tied for eighth in even-strength save percentage (.918; minimum 40 games played); that season, Bobrovsky finished seventh in goal differential among goalies (plus-37). During the 2023-24 regular season, Bobrovsky was tied for fifth in even-strength save percentage (.915; minimum 40 games).

Last season, Toronto had the worst 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (45.5) and offensive zone time percentage (38.9) in the NHL but have since made significant offseason improvements in support of the Bobrovsky-Stolarz tandem. The Maple Leafs have added McKenna, Raddysh and forward Nick Paul (acquired in separate deal from Lightning), among others.

The Maple Leafs are under new leadership after hiring Mats Sundin (senior executive adviser, hockey operations) and John Chayka (general manager) on May 3 and hired Jim Hiller as coach (replacing Craig Berube) on June 17 to address their struggling underlying metrics and contend immediately with Auston Matthews having two seasons remaining on his contract. It’s worth noting that, in Hiller’s last full season as a coach, the Los Angeles Kings ranked fifth in 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (53.1 in 2024-25).

3. Saves by location

Bobrovsky had a down year in terms of high-danger save percentage (.758; NHL average: .811), his worst mark of the NHL’s puck and player tracking era (since 2021-22). But Bobrovsky has ranked highly in all three save percentage by location categories at different points in recent seasons.

During the 2024-25 regular season, Bobrovsky ranked eighth in midrange save percentage (.909) and was just outside the top 10 in long-range save percentage (.978). During the 2024 playoffs, Bobrovsky ranked second in high-danger save percentage (.843) and led the NHL in long-range save percentage (.991; among goalies who played more than five postseason games), showing his versatility in high-pressure situations.

Bobrovsky looks to improve on his career-worst save percentage from last season (.877), and, if he does so, could elevate Toronto back into the Atlantic Division playoff picture, which is arguably the deepest and most competitive division in the League. Adding a championship-caliber goalie gives the Maple Leafs renewed hope of reaching the conference finals for the first time since 2002 and potentially even contending for their first Stanley Cup title since 1967 (longest active drought in NHL).