25-year-old Joseph Woll has high potential, but is prone to injury. Ilya Samsonov had some really bad games this past season, and as a pending UFA, it may be hard to see him return. Matt Murray and Martin Jones are also hitting the open market this summer. As for goalies signed for next season, Dennis Hildeby is next up after Woll, but isn't proven at the NHL level yet.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger says the Leafs' number one priority should be a top-four defenceman, but don't overlook the team targeting another goaltender.
First Up 1050 host Aaron Korolnek brought up Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark as two possible targets, either through trades or free agency, on the May 13th edition of the show.
In Calgary, Dustin Wolf is on the rise, and they shipped off veterans such as Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev. Jacob Markstrom could be in trade talks, as he may not be a long-term fit with the Flames.
Ullmark has one year left on his $5-million deal, and was passed by Jeremy Swayman on Boston's depth chart, making the Swedish goaltender possible trade bait.
Dreger agreed that Markstrom and Ullmark would likely be of interest to the Leafs and added Juuse Saros to the discussion, though he will cost a hefty price.
CapFriendly estimates that the NHL Salary Cap will be $87.7 million for the 2024-25 season. That leaves Toronto with about $18.5 million of cap space to work with. Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi are pending UFAs that could be brought back. It will be very interesting to see how the Leafs plan to address the goaltending position.
POLL | ||
14 MAI | 681 ANSWERS Insider names 3 goalies the Leafs will pursue in trade talks If you could pick one goalie to run in a tandem with Joseph Woll, who would it be? | ||
Linus Ullmark | 191 | 28 % |
Jacob Markstrom | 107 | 15.7 % |
Juuse Saros | 313 | 46 % |
None of the above | 70 | 10.3 % |
List of polls |