Leafs place Mrazek, Clifford on waivers, sign Finnish goaltender
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first official shocker of the Leafs' season, as GM Kyle Dubas has placed goaltender Petr Mrazek on waivers on Sunday.
The move likely signifies that the injured Jack Campbell is preparing for a return this week, but also that the play of 25-year-old rookie Erik Kallgren has instilled confidence from management and the coaching staff.
Mrazek has 2 years remaining after this season at $3.8M, so the Leafs cannot bury the full amount in the minors. It's possible that they have a taker on Mrazek, but only if he clears waivers. That way, he can be assigned directly to the receiving team's AHL affiliate without having to clear. Some added goaltending depth for another contender perhaps.
There also exists the possibility that someone could pick Mrazek up off of waivers, bailing the Leafs out from being on the hook for the remainder of his contract.
Mrazek has not lived up to the expectations that the Leafs had when they inked him to his 3-year deal this summer. In 17 appearances with the Buds in 2021-22, Mrazek has managed a 10-6-0 record, which isn't bad, but his .884 SV% and 3.67 GAA is not what the Leafs signed up for.
Mrazek has been given both backup reps and starter reps this season and for one reason or another it just has not worked out. He lacks the confidence that he had in Carolina. Perhaps it's the defense he had in front of him in Raleigh, or perhaps it's his lengthy injury history catching up to him, but the 30-year-old's tenure in Toronto has been a resounding disappointment.
The Leafs also placed veteran forward Kyle Clifford on waivers and signed Finnish netminder Harri Sateri to a one-year, one-way deal worth $750K for the remainder of this season. Sateri will also have to clear waivers before the Leafs can assign him to the AHL.
| POLL | ||
20 MARS | 473 ANSWERS Leafs place Mrazek, Clifford on waivers, sign Finnish goaltender Will Mrazek be picked up on waivers? | ||
| Yes | 156 | 33 % |
| No, he'll clear | 202 | 42.7 % |
| I'm just glad we're almost done with him | 115 | 24.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
