Insider looks at all of the goalie movement this past summer; Leafs grade pretty high, while Jack Campbell grades poorly
Over the past few off-seasons, there has been a constant goalie carousel with teams sometimes replacing both their starting and backup goalies. Last off-season, we saw the Leafs replace Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek with Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray after Dubas held firm against offering Campbell the $5M per season deal over 5 years that he was pushing hard for. This week, Pierre LeBrun and Jamie McLennan rated the performances of goalies that changed teams this past off-season in an article for The Athletic.
Samsonov and Murray were given a "B+" grade from LeBrun and McLennan and they likely would have graded higher, but due to the fact both have missed some time with injury. that's where they stood in LeBrun and McLennan's books. LeBrun and McLennan also gave credit to Joseph Woll and Erik Kallgren when they have been called upon.
"The Leafs' goaltenders have been good, when available to them, for the most part. There was a couple of weeks stretch where both of them weren't that good. But outside of that, their goaltending has been what they wanted and needed. Put it that way," said McLennan about Murray and Samsonov.
Currently, Samsonov ranks 13th in the NHL in goals save above expected at 12.2 while Murray ranks 36th with 2.3 GSAx. Additionally, Samsonov ranks 17th in save percentage among goalies with 10 or more games played and Murray ranks 33rd.
The Leafs' former starter in Jack Campbell however, did not fair well at all in his grade from LeBrun and McLennan. Campbell was given a grade of "F" by the pair and for good reason. Of 100 goalies ranked, Campbell ranks 97th for goals saved above expected at -22. Not only that, but among goalies that have played at least 200 minutes, Campbell ranks 78th of 82 goals in goals saved above average at -18.03.
"With Jack, because he plays an emotional game, confidence is a big part of it. He's a heart-and-soul guy. He's a good teammate. Everyone is pulling for him. But when he's off his game, you can read it in his body language � you can read it in his play. I agreed with the process as far as why the Oilers signed him. You understand how the Oilers got there. They needed a veteran, established goalie. I'm still bullish on how it can work out. The Oilers still need him. I still believe he will be valuable to them. But flat out, he's not performed this year, there's no getting around it," said McLennan of Campbell's performance this season.
So far, the decision to walk away from Campbell has favoured the Leafs and if it weren't for Stuart Skinner, the Oilers could very well have been in the hunt for Connor Bedard.
