Maple Leafs acquire Aatu Räty from Canucks for two players

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired forward Aatu Räty from the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, sending forwards Jacob Quillan and Brandon Buhr to Vancouver in the swap.

The Maple Leafs announced the deal hours after Räty cleared waivers. Vancouver had placed him on waivers on Wednesday. Räty, a native of Finland, will join Toronto as its third NHL organization after stops with the New York Islanders and the Canucks.

Räty has one goal in four games with Vancouver this season and averaged 10 minutes 10 seconds of ice time, TSN reported. He had four goals and 10 assists in 66 games last season. In 118 career NHL games, split between the Islanders and the Canucks, he has 14 goals and 29 points.

The Islanders drafted Räty 52nd overall in 2021. Vancouver acquired him in January 2023 as part of the package that sent Bo Horvat to New York. He later helped the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks win the Calder Cup in 2025.

Daily Faceoff described Räty as one of the NHL’s top young faceoff men and reported he won 60.5 per cent of his draws in 2025-26. The outlet also reported he can become a restricted free agent after this season and can move between the NHL and the AHL without waivers until he plays 10 NHL games or spends 30 days on an NHL roster.

Quillan, 24, is the main piece going to Vancouver, Daily Faceoff reported. He had 14 goals and 36 points in 40 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies last season and added three points in 23 games with the Maple Leafs, The Hockey Writers reported. He has no points in four games with the Marlies this season. Buhr, also 24, signed with Toronto as a free agent out of Union College in March and has two assists in four AHL games this season.

“We want to thank Aatu for all he has done for the organization, and we wish him well in Toronto,” Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. Johnson said the return gives Vancouver’s group “two new young players to work with.”

The trade comes as Toronto deals with injuries on its blue line. Defenceman Chris Tanev was placed on injured reserve on Monday with an upper-body injury and is considered week to week. The Maple Leafs also lost 5-4 to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday, days after Vegas rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat them in a shootout .

Neither team’s announcement, as reported, said when Räty will make his debut with Toronto. The Maple Leafs are scheduled to host the New York Islanders on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. ET. The Canucks, meanwhile, fell 3-2 to the Islanders earlier this week and continue to reshape their forward group.

Via TSN , Daily Faceoff , The Hockey Writers and The Associated Press.

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