Rookie Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov May Soon Make NHL Debut For Maple Leafs, Per Report
Photo credit: Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff
The Maple Leafs are expected to rotate goalies over their next four games, with a reporter revealing that the team may bring up rookie Marlies goalie Artur Akhtyamov for a look at the NHL level.
Without Anthony Stolarz, the Leafs' goaltending stats have slipped considerably in recent weeks, but the team will have to make due at least for another month.
Stolarz is expected to be out four-to-six weeks after undergoing a procedure on his knee December 17th leaving the bulk of the workload to Joseph Woll.
In four starts since Stolarz's injury, Woll is 2-2 with a dismal .884 save percentage, but with Matt Murray still getting comfortable in the NHL again and Dennis Hildeby being inconsistent when called upon, the Leafs don't have much of a choice, but to run with 2016 fourth-round pick as much as possible.
After three games in four nights coming out of the Christmas break, the Leafs' aren't back in action until Tuesday, before playing another three games in four nights over the weekend.
According to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan, the Leafs have come to a decision regarding the deployment of their goaltenders over the next week.
"The expectation for the Leafs' goaltending ahead is that Joseph Woll will start three of the next four games, while either Matt Murray or Dennis Hildeby will likely play in one of the games next weekend during the back-to-back at home against Boston and Philadelphia," wrote Koshun in his latest piece.
Koshan also noted that the Leafs will be keeping a close eye on Woll's workload without Stolarz and mentioned that the Leafs may give rookie Artur Akhtyamov an opportunity.
Akhtyamov has been outstanding with the Marlies in his rookie season going 9-2-1 with 2 shutouts. While his save percentage is only .901, it is still better than what the Leafs have been getting from their goaltenders since Stolarz went down.
Unfortunately for the Leafs, they missed out on a golden opportunity to claim Cayden Primeau from the Montreal Canadiens over the weekend, which could have given the team more stability in goal while Stolarz recovers and someone that can handle a heavier workload than the still recovering Murray or rookie Hildeby.
If the Leafs do want to give Akhtyamov a look in the NHL, now is certainly the time, in the middle of the season while one of their primary goaltenders is down and with nobody truly stepping up to grab the net.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 30 | 2351 ANSWERS Rookie Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov May Soon Make NHL Debut For Maple Leafs, Per Report Should the Leafs give rookie goalie Artur Akhtyamov a look at the NHL level? | ||
| Yes | 1766 | 75.1 % |
| No | 585 | 24.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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