Mrazek is not the answer in Toronto, but maybe they can find the answer in Long Island
There has been a ton of talk around what the Toronto Maple Leafs should or shouldn't do at the upcoming trade deadline. The common theme from most fans is that the team needs to focus on the defense. It's not difficult to make an argument as to why the Leafs should focus on building up their blue line before the playoffs, but let me put it to you this way. Your defense doesn't matter if your goalie can't stop the puck.
Despite what Leafs GM Kyle Dubas says, a few more games like what we've seen recently from both Jack Campbell and, more recently, Petr Mrazek, and the Leafs will have no choice but to look to upgrade their tandem. While Campbell has shown flashes of brilliance this season, including a long stretch from Septemeber through November of Vezina-caliber play, Petr Mrazek has been a massive let-down in Toronto after the Leafs committed 3 years at $3.8M to the veteran netminder.
The problem is that options are fairly limited in terms of who might be available that would be a clear cut upgrade over Mrazek. Many are chanting for Marc-Andre Fleury, but all signs point towards him remaining in Chicago at this point, and who knows if he would even waive his NTC to come to the Leafs? Enter Semyon Varlamov.
In my opinion, there is only one option for Toronto if they're looking to upgrade in goal, but don't want to break the bank doing it. Kyle Dubas and Lou Lamoriello have a history. They understand one another. They know where their teams are at and I think that, if they can find a deal that benefits both sides, they'll strike a deal.
Varlamov, 33, has been nothing if not consistent during his time in the league. In fact, he has been playing at a very high level for almost the entirety of his 14-year NHL career, and his career .916 SV% is evidence of that. He's had a few pretty solid postseason runs in his career and with the Isles likely to be sellers, and with the emergence of Ilya Sorokin, Varlamov might actually be available.
The big questions here are whether or not the Isles would take Mrazek off Toronto's hands to play backup to Sorokin for the next 2 seasons after this one and whether or not Varlamov would waive his NTC to accept a deal to Toronto. I don't think there's an argument that you could make to support Mrazek being better than Varlamov. A quick comparison of their career numbers will confirm that.. but if Sorokin is looking at the lion's share of the starts in Long Island going forward, would Varlamov consider coming to Toronto if it meant he stood a great chance of playing more this season and next?
The other reason why this deal makes sense is that if Jack Campbell decides to sign elsewhere this summer as a UFA, at least the Leafs would have an experienced goaltender who could provide them with some stable goaltending in Varlamov. I don't think you can say the same about Mrazek.
Sure. The Leafs are probably going to spend assets at the deadline to add on the blueline, but again. None of that matters if your goalie can't stop the puck. Just my two cents.
