The goalie market is rapidly drying up, which is definitely a cause for concern if you're the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Thursday, we saw the likes of Marc-Andre Fluery re-sign in Minnesota and Alexandar Georgiev being dealt to the Colorado Avalanche for a trio of picks. Now, on Friday, Ville Husso has also found a new home.
The Detroit Red Wings revealed on Friday morning, via their official Twitter account, that they have acquired the rights to Husso from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2022 third round pick.
Husso, a pending UFA, inked a 3-year deal immediately after being acquired by the Red Wings, which carries a lofty $4.75M cap hit.
The Leafs already moved backup Petr Mrazek to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, which means that no matter what, they're going to need to sign at least one goaltender. It's rather unfortunate that Husso signed so soon and for such a high AAV, as it almost certainly raises the bar for Jack Campbell and Darcy Kuemper, who were already both rumoured to exceed $5M per season on the open market. With Husso getting nearly $5M, I can't imagine a scenario in which Campbell and Kuemper take less than $6M.
There are also two options that may be available to the Leafs in the trade market as John Gibson and Matt Murray are also rumoured to be available via trade. Unfortunately for the Buds, both netminders own contracts that exceed the $6M mark as well.
At this point, it's seeming like Gibson is the best option available to the Leafs, should they be able to swing a deal with the Ducks.
