A shocking stat about the Leafs goaltending
Since the calendar turned to 2022 it seems as though the Leafs need to score at least 5 goals in a game in order to have a chance to win. Poor goaltending has led to seemingly every defensive blunder ending up in the back of the Leafs' net. Goals saved above expected is an advanced stat that measures a goalie's save percentage based on the amount of shots they've faced and compares it to the league average save percentage and this season, the Leafs GSAA is shockingly bad.
In November and December when the Leafs were playing at their best, their GSAA was good. During that stretch of the season, especially in November when the Leafs were getting solid performances out of Joseph Woll and Vezina level goaltending from Jack Campbell, the team looked like they could beat anyone. Now, their cumulative GSAA sits between a -20 and -25 and it's still trending downward.
Jack Campbell has struggled in 2022, and it's unknown if he'll return to form when he returns from injury. Petr Mrazek has not been a fit with the Leafs from the get-go and he's becoming a non option at this point. The Leafs' defense isn't great but if the Leafs received even average goaltending, they'd look a lot better than they do now and they'd almost certainly have collected more points in the closer games.
Kyle Dubas has one week before the trade deadline to figure out what to do. Do the Leafs try unproven options in Erik Kallgren and/or Joseph Woll? Do they ride it out with Mrazek and Campbell? Or, do they go out and trade for a goalie?
The Leafs' most important move at the deadline may be the path they decide to go down between the pipes. Upgrading the defense will do nothing if the Leafs can't get a save when they need one. League average goaltending at this point would be a vast improvement.
| POLL | ||
MARS 14 | 505 ANSWERS A shocking stat about the Leafs goaltending Can the Leafs win with Campbell and Mrazek? | ||
| Not a chance | 193 | 38.2 % |
| There's always a chance | 108 | 21.4 % |
| Maybe Campbell, but not Mrazek | 204 | 40.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
