The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs are ideal trade partners at the moment
Martin Jones was signed by the Leafs this summer as an insurance policy behind Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll. He showed promise early in his career and there were some highs that followed, but from a consistency standpoint, he never really developed into the starter he was projected to become. Still, as far as third string goalies go, a team could do a lot worse than a goalie who won 27 games in the NHL last season. So far in this pre season, Jones has been outstanding, especially against Montreal on Saturday night.
Jones' excellent play is a blessing and a curse. We all know that Joseph Woll isn't going on waivers anytime soon, and if Jones is ultimately waived by the Leafs, he isn't likely to clear after the pre-season he's had. There are several teams with question marks in net this season who would be happy to snatch him up for free if he happens to hit the waiver wire - especially because he makes less than $1M.
The Leafs are now faced with a predicament. If John Klingberg's injury isn't serious enough to be placed on LTIR, Jones will likely have to be sent down for the Leafs to fit under the cap with their best roster. Is this a situation where Brad Treliving can get value out of a no-win situation? The Leafs are likely losing Jones either way. Why not simply trade him?
You may be asking, "why would a team trade for him when they can get him for free on waivers?" It's a fair question, but understanding how waivers work will help. It's all based on the standings. For example, if the Leafs were to waive Martin Jones and Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia had both put in a waiver claim for him, the Flyers would have waiver priority, as they finished lower in the standings last season.
In Tampa's current situation, they'll be without the services of Andrei Vasilevskiy for the next 8-10 weeks while he recovers from back surgery. They have a pretty significant need for a goaltender right now and it stands to reason that if the Leafs plan to waive Jones and the Bolts like netminder, but don't feel like he'll fall far enough for them to be able to claim him, it may open the door for a trade.
Ideally, the Leafs will be able to find a way to keep Jones and the Lightning will look elsewhere to fill their need. If that isn't possible, Treliving needs to start working the phones and find a paying customer for Martin Jones' services. At this point, losing him for nothing probably wouldn't be the wisest of decisions.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 30 | 103 ANSWERS The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs are ideal trade partners at the moment Should the Leafs trade Martin Jones? | ||
| They have to. They can't lose him for nothing | 53 | 51.5 % |
| No, he'll clear waivers | 12 | 11.7 % |
| Just carry 3 goalies to avoid losing him | 38 | 36.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
