Maple Leafs send Akhtyamov to Marlies, recall Hildeby amid goalie shuffle

The Maple Leafs treated this as more than a routine paper move. By recalling Dennis Hildeby and sending Artur Akhtyamov back to the Toronto Marlies, Toronto showed exactly how thin, and how carefully managed, its goaltending insurance plan has become with Anthony Stolarz ruled out for the season.

Hildeby is the more advanced NHL option right now, and the numbers back that up. The 24-year-old has played 19 games for Toronto this season, including 13 starts, and has posted a 5-6-4 record with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. He is also locked into the organization on a three-year extension worth $841,667 annually, a sign the Leafs see him as more than a temporary patch as they carry Joseph Woll and deal with Stolarz’s absence.

Akhtyamov’s brief NHL look told a different story. After being recalled on April 9, he made two starts for the Leafs and went 0-2 with a 5.24 GAA and a .877 save percentage. That does not erase what he has done in the American Hockey League, where he has been one of the Marlies’ most productive goalies this season. In 36 AHL games, Akhtyamov went 20-12-4 with a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage, the kind of form that keeps him in the conversation as a long-range piece even after a rough NHL cameo.

For Toronto, the split is practical. Hildeby gives the Maple Leafs a bigger, steadier NHL body who has already logged significant time in the crease, while Akhtyamov returns to a Marlies club that needs him for the stretch run and the Calder Cup chase. Toronto clinched a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 overtime win over Utica, and the Marlies are headed to the postseason for the fourth straight year and the 15th time overall. They reached the Calder Cup Finals in 2012 and won the championship in 2018, so this is not a team in need of a developmental detour. It needs goaltending it can trust right away.

That is what makes the shuffle matter. Hildeby’s stock is climbing because he is closer to trusted NHL depth status, while Akhtyamov’s value is being reinforced in the AHL where Toronto will need him most. One goalie is being lined up as insurance for the Maple Leafs. The other is being sent back to steady a Marlies team with real playoff expectations.