Since the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, the Maple Leafs have had a revolving door of goaltenders. In arguably the most important position on the ice, the buds just haven't been able to quite solidify the crease. Let's call a spade a spade, there have been some atrocious goaltenders to suit up in the blue and white. To make matters worse, for the majority of the latter years, the Leafs have never had a consecrated "#1 goalie". The "watchdogs of the web wickets", as Joe Bowen would say, have been explained away as a "tandem" or "1A/1B" and the idea being sold was that they would be competing for starts and that internal competition would lead to both players pushing the other to elevate their game.

Keeping within the last 5 years, no goalie has been allowed to take the spot and run with it. We had Gustavsson/Giguere which was an unreliable tandem at best, and the waters were further muddied with the emergence of James Reimer midway through the season. The following season, the Leafs went with Gustavsson/Reimer which looked fine on paper since Reimer's great run at the end of the previous season was still fresh in their minds. However, Gustavsson faltered and eventually got injured, and Ben Scrivens was called up. The following year, the Leafs went with Scrivens/Reimer, and still refused to anoint a real #1 out of the bunch, with dandy Randy giving Scrivens the first start of the season. The Leafs made the playoffs that year on the back of Reimer, but the management regime couldn't look past the Game 7 collapse, and wasted no time acquiring Jonathan Bernier, who was set to be "the guy" moving forward. This slap in the face to Reimer, coupled with an ongoing unwillingness to declare a permanent starter, no doubt affected both goalies' mentalities over the next 2 seasons.

Enter 2016. Reimer is shipped off to San Jose. Bernier to Anaheim. Frederik Andersen is acquired, and Jhonas Enroth is signed with the express purpose of being his backup.

The Leafs have left no doubt in their goaltending situation moving forward. There is no hesitancy. No reluctance. Andersen is their guy. The #1 that Babcock will aim to start in at least 60 games, while Enroth is there to be a steadying veteran backup - something that previous regimes were never able to do. But how much better will this duo fare than the last? Time will tell.

It is this writer's humble opinion that the current tandem is light years better than the previous. While the two major goalie statistics (GAA and SV%) are relatively inconclusive, I feel, having watched Anaheim play a good amount of times, that Andersen is significantly better and more reliable than either Reimer or Bernier. That said, I feel that both of the latter players are better than Enroth. So, as a fan base, we should temper our expectations.

One point that continues to be brought up is that last season, the Leafs left at least 30 points on the table because of 1-goal losses. Add in empty netter 2-goal losses, as well as SO and OT losses and you can see the narrow margin that separates the wildcard teams from the cellar dwellers in a league that strives for parity. Add in an improved situation between the pipes, as well as some additional firepower in the skilled youngsters being brought in, as well as a healthy top scorer in JVR, and it's feasible that those 1-goal losses could become 1 goal wins or at least get the extra point. Does extrapolating that information mean that the Leafs are playoff bound? I think that's a bit of a stretch. That being said, they certainly can't be worse. I'm excited to see the improvement, even if it's a modest one.

What do you think, Leafers? How does the Andersen/Enroth duo stack up against Reimer/Bernier? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

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