Erik Kallgren should already be penciled in as the full-time backup goalie in Toronto next season
Erik Kallgren, a former 7th round pick by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, was a rather obscure name until he won a Swedish Hockey League Championship with the Vaxjo Lakers in 2020-21. Unfortunately for the Yotes, and fortunately for the Leafs, Arizona had allowed Kallgren's NHL rights to expire, allowing him to sign in Toronto as a free agent in 2021.
After posting a 15-8-1 record with a very mediocre Toronto Marlies team in the AHL, Kallgren had earned a call-up to the Leafs in March due to a Jack Campbell rib injury and was thrust into the limelight well ahead of expectation when he came into a game (rather poetically) against the team that drafted him, the Arizona Coyotes on March 10th in relief of Petr Mrazek, who had allowed 4 goals on just 12 shots. Kallgren went on to make 10 saves on 11 shots en route to a 5-4 OT loss to the Yotes. His next appearance game just 5 days later, with the 25-year-old pitching a shutout in his first career NHL start, making 35 saves against the Dallas Stars in a 4-0 win.
From there, Kallgren was very up and down in the remainder of his season with the Leafs, going 8-4-1 in 14 appearances and posting a .888 SV% and a 3.31 GAA. He also came into a game against Tampa in relief of Jack Campbell in the postseason, making 10 saves on 10 shots, posting a 1.000 SV% in his only playoff appearance.
It's no secret that while other teams, like Pittsburgh with Matt Murray, St. Louis with Jordan Binnington and now even Dallas, it appears, with Jake Oettinger, the Leafs can't seem to strike gold on any of their goaltending prospects. Almost none of them actually go on to bear any fruit for the Leafs at the NHL level (See: Justin Pogge, Garrett Sparks). With the exception of James Reimer, we haven't really seen any young goaltenders emerge as a number one in Toronto. Why is that? Well, the answer may very well be a simple one. Opportunity.
The Leafs are in a position now where they have potentially two openings in net this summer and there is talk of the team trying to fill both of them. What if the Leafs didn't fill both spots. What if they just went after one and filled the other one internally?
Both Kallgren and Joseph Woll have a few NHL wins under their belts, and while both have looked shaky at times, sooner or later, the team is going to have to put some faith in their prospects. The difference between the Leafs and other NHL teams who have seen goalies within their own system thrive at the NHL level is opportunity. Murray benefitted from Marc-Andre Fleury stumbling for the Pens. Binnington got his shot as a 4th string goalie and ran with his opportunity all he way to a Stanley Cup. Most recently, Jake Oettinger had an opportunity in Dallas with Ben Bishop (LTIR) sidelined. Oettinger and Khudobin were the tandem last year, and Oettinger played so well that he even pushed Khudobin onto waivers earlier this year and shared the net with Braden Holtby.
All of this to say that the Leafs need to figure out what they have in goal. They need to figure out if Kallgren or Woll can be an answer for them, even if it's just as a backup goaltender. So, with that in mind, whether they re-sign Jack Campbell or make a move to acquire someone like John Gibson, I think this team needs to stop fearing the worst with their goalie prospects and put a little faith in them. Sometimes, as we've seen with other clubs, a little faith can go a long way.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 14 | 299 ANSWERS Erik Kallgren should already be penciled in as the full-time backup goalie in Toronto next season Should the Leafs utilize Kallgren as their primary backup this season? | ||
| Yes | 193 | 64.5 % |
| No | 57 | 19.1 % |
| Not Kallgren, but maybe Woll | 49 | 16.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
