The Leafs need more from Petr Mrazek
When the Leafs signed goaltender Petr Mrazek to a 3-year, $11.4M contract in the offseason, it was expected that he and Jack Campbell would be entering in more of a net share situation in Toronto. What we have seen thus far couldn't be further from a net share situation.
Mrazek, to his credit, has been injured for much of the season, playing just 3 games for the Buds, while Campbell has appeared in 23 of the Leafs' 30 games this season. Not exactly a good example of load management, which was the idea coming into this season.
When Mrazek has been healthy enough to start games for the Leafs, he has not been as sharp as the team needs him to be. The Czech goaltender is well on his way to posting career lows in both goals against average (currently holds a 4.13 GAA) and save percentage (currently .880).
It would be easy to say that the Leafs haven't offered Mrazek much in the way of support in the games he has played, and that may be a fair argument, but the eye test wouldn't fail you either. Mrazek plays a much more wild style than the calm, cool and collected Jack Campbell, who always seems to be in good position.
If you consider the fact that Mrazek has faced an average of just 27 shots per game while allowing 11 goals, it's abundantly clear that Mrazek needs to be better. The team in front of him needs to be better as well, but let's not absolve Mrazek of any blame here. After all, his job is to stop the pucks that do get to him.
Mrazek's health has quickly become a concern for the Leafs as well. After starting 40 games in each of the 2018-19 and 2019-20 season, Mrazek was limited to just 12 games in 2020-21. This season, at the rate he's going, the 29-year-old is on pace to start just 8 games for the Leafs. Obviously, if he can remain healthy from here on out, that number will go up, but it's a concern nonetheless.
Mrazek and his $3.8M cap hit is on the books for two more seasons with the Leafs, so unless GM Kyle Dubas has an ace up his sleeve to move that contract and bring in a suitable replacement for at or less than that price, Mrazek is going to need to elevate his game for the Leafs to be able trust him with more frequent starts.
There is a silver-lining here, though. In Mrazek's 3 games as a Leaf, he is 2-1-0. The phrase "don't care, just win" comes to mind. If Mrazek can win games for the Leafs in the starts that he does get, it's not really important how he gets it done.. just that he does get it done.
Mrazek, who made his return to practice on Thursday after a stint in COVID protocol, owns a career 2.61 GAA and a career .910 SV%, so he has some work to do to bring his numbers up this season. Let's hope that he can remain healthy and do just that. This is a big season for the Leafs and they're going to need two healthy, productive goaltenders to really show up when it really matters.
