We know Mrazek is a goner, but a recent report indicates that there could be TWO new goalies in Toronto in 2022-23
Every day we are getting closer and closer to free agency and every day it's looking increasingly likely that the Toronto Maple Leafs may have to bring in not only one new option in net, but they may have to replace both Petr Mrazek AND Jack Campbell.
It's been reported that the Leafs want no part of Petr Mrazek and they are looking to move on from him and his $3.8M cap hit (for two more seasons). As for Jack Campbell, with the lofty contract expectations he appears to have, the pending unrestricted free agent and is likely to explore his options on July 13th to see if the right opportunity might exist elsewhere.
That means Toronto will need to look for new goalie. If they're picking from the crop of pending UFA's, Ville Husso is a pretty interesting name if you're the Leafs. The 2014 fourth round pick made a name for himself this season in St. Louis, taking over the starting job from Jordan Binnington for a stretch. Husso played in 40 games going 25-7-6 with two shutouts collecting a 2.56 GAA and .919 save percentage. Husso will be getting a pay raise, but he would be a goalie that the Leafs can likely still afford.
The second option for Toronto may also come via free agency this summer, but my money is on a trade. Whether it's a legit starter or a veteran backup is the big question. We know from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman's report a couple weeks back that the Leafs were connected to Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson. Obviously, the Leafs aren't going to be able to go after both Gibson ($6.4Mx5) and Husso (likely coming in at or above the $3.5M mark), so if they went the Gibson route, they'd likely roll the dice on Erik Kallgren or one of their other internal options as their backup.
Could a tandem of Ville Husso and Braden Holtby make sense? If Holtby is not the guy, could Alexandar Georgiev be an option in a tandem with Husso? If so, the Leafs may even be able to get the pair for the $5M that Campbell wants. The question is, would that be a tangible improvement over Campbell/Kallgren?
Another interesting thing to note is what the Leafs may have planned for goalie coach Steve Briere. If Briere is let go and a fresh face with some new ideas is brought in, does that increase or decrease the likelihood that we'll see two new goaltenders next season? Some big decisions ahead.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 2 | 551 ANSWERS We know Mrazek is a goner, but a recent report indicates that there could be TWO new goalies in Toronto in 2022-23 Should the Leafs replace both goalies this summer? | ||
| Yes | 271 | 49.2 % |
| No | 113 | 20.5 % |
| Only if they're upgrading big time | 167 | 30.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
