Aatu Räty Trade: Why the Leafs Gave Up Quillan and Buhr for a Centre

The Aatu Räty trade: what Toronto did

The Maple Leafs completed the Aatu Räty trade on Oct. 15, acquiring the 23-year-old Finnish centre from the Vancouver Canucks for forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr. The team announced the deal hours before its 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo. Räty had cleared waivers earlier the same day, and Toronto assigned him to the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

On its face it is a minor-league swap: two depth forwards out, one depth forward in. It is also John Chayka's first move of the season aimed squarely at centre depth, made the same night John Tavares left the game injured. That timing makes it worth a closer look.

Who is Aatu Räty?

Räty was once one of the most talked-about prospects in his draft class, projected years out as a possible high pick before his draft season stalled. The New York Islanders took him in the second round in 2021. In early 2023 they sent him to Vancouver as part of the package for Bo Horvat. Toronto is his third NHL organization.

His draft year is the cautionary part of the story. Räty went into 2020-21 talked about as a possible top pick, had a difficult season in Finland's Liiga, and slid into the second round. He has been chasing that early projection ever since. Going to Vancouver in the Horvat trade put him in a deeper organization, and he spent much of his time there moving between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate.

He has not produced much at the NHL level. CanucksArmy puts his career total at 29 points in 118 NHL games, and he had one goal in four games for Vancouver this season before the Canucks waived him. What he does do is win draws: he took 56.8 per cent of his faceoffs with the Canucks last season, per The Canadian Press. The scouting line on him for years has been the same one in that report's headline — faceoff smarts, a question mark on foot speed.

The basics, from the team announcement and published contract data:

DetailAatu RätyPositionCentreAge23NationalityFinlandDrafted2021, second round, New York Islanders2026-27 cap hit$850,000Contract statusExpires after 2026-27; RFACurrent assignmentToronto Marlies (AHL)

What the Leafs gave up

Quillan, who scored the overtime winner for Quinnipiac in the 2023 NCAA championship game, signed with Toronto in April 2024 and has spent his pro career mostly with the Marlies. Buhr, an undrafted forward out of Union College, signed a one-year contract with the Leafs in March. Neither was on Toronto's NHL roster or the Leafs' 2026-27 cap sheet, and neither projected as a regular this season.

So the price is two organizational depth pieces for one. Toronto loses a body in the AHL, and the Marlies lose some depth, but there is no pick involved and no NHL player leaves. For a player who cleared waivers — meaning every NHL team, the Leafs included, passed on claiming him for nothing a few hours earlier — that is about the right price. It is not a steal; it is a fair fee for getting him in the system on purpose rather than waiting for him to land somewhere else.

Where Räty fits on the Leafs' centre depth chart

Räty does not jump anyone on the depth chart. He slots in as the next man up behind the NHL group. Here is how Toronto's centres stack up by 2026-27 cap hit, from the Leafs' cap sheet as of Oct. 3, with Räty added:

PlayerCap hitStatusAuston Matthews$13,250,000Active, first-line centreJohn Tavares$4,380,000Injured Oct. 15, status unknownColton Sissons$4,250,000ActiveMax Domi$3,750,000LTIRNick Paul$3,150,000Active, centre or wingTeddy Blueger$2,500,000ActiveAatu Räty$850,000Marlies (AHL)Bo Groulx$812,500Active, extra forward

The table explains the logic. Toronto has a lot of money tied up in centres who are either hurt or best suited to checking roles. What it lacked was a cheap, young, NHL-tested centre stashed in the AHL for exactly the week it is having. Before the trade, a Tavares injury would have meant moving Paul back to the middle and dressing Groulx. Now there is a second layer.

Why the cap math works

Räty's $850,000 cap hit is the key detail. Because it sits below the threshold at which a minor-league contract starts to count against the cap, he carries no cap charge while he plays for the Marlies. The Leafs added a centre to the organization without touching their NHL cap number.

If he is recalled, the full $850,000 counts while he is up. That is close to the cheapest possible NHL centre, which matters for a team that is managing its space with Max Domi and Dakota Joshua on long-term injured reserve and Kirill Marchenko's $12.5 million extension starting next season. Räty also becomes a restricted free agent next summer, so Toronto controls his rights if he plays his way into a role.

The Tavares problem makes it more than depth

Tavares left the Buffalo game early in the third period after a collision with Sabres forward Josh Norris, and coach Jim Hiller had no update afterward. If Tavares misses time, the Leafs' centre depth gets thin quickly. Domi is on LTIR. Nick Paul has been moving between centre and wing. Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger are checking centres. Bo Groulx has been used as the extra forward.

We wrote before the Colorado game that Paul's second-line promotion was the fallback whenever Tavares is out. That remains the first option. Räty is the second. He will not replace Tavares's offence, and nobody should expect him to. What he can do is take defensive-zone draws and kill penalties on the bottom six, which lets Hiller push Paul or Sissons up without leaving the fourth line without a natural centre.

Our take: a smart, low-risk bet — with a ceiling

This is the kind of move a team should make in October. Toronto turned two AHL forwards who were not in its NHL plans into a 23-year-old centre with 118 NHL games, a strong faceoff record and a minimum-level cap hit. If he never plays a game for the Leafs, the cost was close to nothing.

The ceiling is the honest part. Räty has had chances in two organizations and has not stuck as an NHL regular. He was waived because Vancouver did not see him in its top 13. The best realistic outcome is a reliable fourth-line centre; anything more would be a bonus. Toronto's bigger need — a top-four defenceman, as we argued in our piece on the Leafs' defence trade timeline — is untouched by this trade, and nobody should mistake it for the answer.

What's next for Räty

Watch the Tavares update first. If Tavares is out beyond a game or two, Räty is the most natural recall, and the Leafs host the New York Islanders on Oct. 17 and the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 19. If Tavares is fine, Räty plays big minutes with the Marlies and waits for the next injury, which in an 84-game season always comes.

Either way, the trade costs Toronto nothing it will miss. That is the bar for an October depth deal, and this one clears it. Keep track of every Leafs contract on our contracts page.