Elliotte Friedman reveals the Leafs' goaltending plans moving forward
On the 32 Thoughts podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman touched on what the Leafs are thinking in terms of what to do about the team's goaltending.
Per Friedman, the Leafs are going with Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek and likely will not be upgrading their goaltending by the March 21st trade deadline. Instead Freidman says that the Leafs are still prioritizing upgrades to their defense.
The Leafs' goaltending was one of the team's strong suits at the start of the season. Campbell had a first half that earned him an All-Star appearance and early Vezina Trophy consideration, while Petr Mrazek was starting to get healthy and slowly return to the form he had in Carolina.
Since the calendar turned to 2022, Campbell has struggled immensely and the his struggles have lasted long enough that it is no longer just a factor of the Leafs having weak defence. Campbell and Mrazek have been used in a tandem in 2022 but both goalies have been inconsistent. At this point it is hard to have confidence in either goalie if the playoffs were to start today.
Meanwhile, the Leafs defense has been a weak point for the entire season. The Rielly - Brodie pairing has been excellent all year and newly acquired Ilya Lyubushkin has fit in well on a pairing with Rasmus Sandin. Unfortunately, Jake Muzzin (who's currently injured), Justin Holl, Timothy Liljegren, and Travis Dermott have all had their fair share of struggles this season. The Leafs defense is not of the same caliber of the Lightning, Panthers, and Bruins - making an upgrade by the trade deadline a necessity.
It is crucial to the Leafs success that one of Campbell or Mrazek grabs ahold of the starting job and can be a trustworthy starter for game 1 of the playoffs.
If Friedman is right and the Leafs will prioritize upgrading their defense at the deadline and are not looking for goaltending help, then that means that the ball is now in the Leafs' netminders' court.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 28 | 399 ANSWERS Elliotte Friedman reveals the Leafs' goaltending plans moving forward Who do you think the starting goalie will be come playoff time? | ||
| Jack Campbell | 260 | 65.2 % |
| Petr Mrazek | 40 | 10 % |
| They're definitely trading for a goalie | 99 | 24.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
