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The Toronto Maple Leafs had almost everything go right last season. Their large group rookies exceeded expectations, they avoided major injuries to key players, and unlike Vesa Toskala, Andrew Raycroft and Jonathan Bernier, goaltender Frederik Andersen settled in after a rough start and became the backbone of the club.
The former Anaheim Ducks netminder (acquired for a 2016 first round pick and 2017 second round pick) proved he could handle the Toronto presser cooker and the workload of a number one starter, going 33-16-14, with a 2.67 GAA and .918 save percentage in 66 games.
The backup situation became a concern for Toronto after head coach Mike Babcock made it clear that he could not trust either Jhonas Enroth or rookie Antoine Bibeau to give his club competent goaltending in back-to-back situations.
That was solved by the waiver claim of veteran Curtis McElhinney from the Columbus Blue Jackets in January, who finished just under .500 in 10 starts and helped the Leafs clinch a playoff spot in relief of an injured Andersen against the Cup champion Penguins in Game #81.
On a recent Buzzcast, we discussed the depth of NHL clubs goaltending. With very few exceptions, if an NHL team loses their starting goaltender for a significant length of time (as occurred with Montreal’s Carey Price two years ago and Los Angeles with Jonathan Quick last year), their season is pretty much lost.
In a less disastrous scenario, where the starter is lost for a month or so (as happened with Corey Crawford in Chicago), a backup (like Scott Darling) capable of handling a starter’s workload for a short stretch could make the difference between a team making or missing the post-season.
The question that was likely a concern for Toronto prior to July 1 was whether McElhinney would be capable of adequately filling the gap if Andersen were out at any point next season.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this month that the Leafs took a run at signing Ottawa’s Mike Condon (who filled in for starter Craig Anderson due to his wife’s battle with cancer) before circling back and signing McElhinney on a two-year, $1.7 Million extension.
With Columbus, the big netminder stepped in and played around 30 games because of mid-season injuries to starter Sergei Bobrovsky. McElhinney finished the season under .500 both years and the Jackets finished nine points out of the last playoff spot in 2015.
The Leafs really do not have a suitable answer next season if Andersen is injured and McElhinney cannot handle a starter’s workload. Garret Sparks put up excellent numbers with the Marlies, but the 24-year-old has battled chronic groin injuries in his professional career and was out twice last season.
The positive about McElhinney’s contract is that it is under the $950,000 limit clear cap space if a player is demoted to the AHL. If disaster does strike, the Leafs may have to hit the trade market to find a temporary solution in goal.
Short of that, Toronto’s management and coaching staff are liking keeping their fingers crossed that Andersen stays healthy next season.
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