For the Toronto Maple Leafs, there is a lot riding on the 2022-23 season, the second-to-last season before Auston Matthews and William Nylander are due substantial new contracts. Obviously, the biggest concern right now for the Leafs is finding a way to beat the clock and win at least a few rounds to show some of their top guys that they can be competitive when it matters. That's why when Real Kyper and Bourne's Nick Kypreos revealed what he believes the Leafs are planning to do about their goaltending this year, there were a lot of raised eyebrows in Leafs Nation.
During yesterday's program, Kypreos suggested that the Leafs are looking at potentially heading into the 2022-23 season with Petr Mrazek and Erik Kallgren as the team's new tandem. If you had to do a double-take, I don't blame you. Neither goaltender finished the season above a .900 save percentage and somehow Kypreos thinks the Leafs would consider running a worse tandem than last season and hoping for better results. Something just doesn't add up there.
Mrazek had a down year by anyone's standards, and banking on a guy who is clearly battling some confidence issues does not seem wise. Similarly, backing a European free agent signing who was passed on by *checks notes* ARIZONA doesn't exactly feel like the smartest of decisions either.
I firmly believe that because the Leafs were undergoing significant front office changes to their scouting and goaltending departments this summer, they simply wanted to fill some positions and receive some input from the new crew before diving in and making huge organizational decisions. Dubas very much seems like a "success by committee" sort of GM, fostering an inclusive environment and trusting his people to do the jobs they were hired to do. Because the scouting department and the goaltending department have now been overhauled and there are some new aces in their places in Toronto, we're going to see things pick up on the goaltending front.
