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The Toronto Maple Leafs will begin evaluating their roster options when training camp opens next Thursday, but with a logjam behind starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, GM Kyle Dubas did not rule out the possibility of carrying three goalies on the club’s 23-man roster to start the season.
“I wouldn’t expect it, but I would never say never.… Dubas said to TSN’s Bob McKenzie on Wednesday. ““We’ll give the goalies all an opportunity. They’re all acutely aware of the situation. It doesn’t have to be expressed to them. They can look around the room and see it. We’ll see how it plays out. All of those factors are always taken into account, but it’s exciting for us and we’re fortunate to be in the position that we are.… Veteran Curtis McElhinney, Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard are vying for the #2 job behind Andersen, all are on one-way contracts next season and all have to clear waivers to be sent to the American Hockey League, which could cause Dubas to carry an extra goaltender for fear of losing him to another club for nothing.
The Athletic’s James Mirtle reported last month that the Leafs were exploring trade options with Pickard prior to camp, who has an NHL body of work with the Colorado Avalanche, but a trade option could also extend to Sparks, who led the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup last season, won the Baz Bastien Award for the AHL’s best goaltender and might be an inexpensive option for another NHL club looking for a young backup or potential starter.
“If you don’t make the team out of camp, every NHL team has a chance to lay claim to you,… Sparks said Wednesday to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. “(Waivers) is not something I’m looking forward to. That’s a stressful process. (But) if my worst-case scenario is that I wind up playing for the Marlies, I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again.
The organization has a fallback option in case one or more of their goalies are claimed or traded, as goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo is waiver exempt. The 24-year-old Finn was the Marlies starting goalie with Sparks injured in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs and had a solid year on loan to the AHL Chicago Wolves.
“I think we are very fortunate to have the depth in goaltending that we do. We’ll let the goaltenders figure it out here in training camp and exhibition. I think every team in the league also knows we have a surplus of guys there.… Dubas said.
The decision in part will come down to how the goalies perform over the month of September, but also a factor will be the trust level that Mike Babcock has in his backup. A lack of confidence was a big consideration in Jhonas Enroth’s short stint in Leafland two years ago and McElhinney coming off career-best numbers (2.14 GAA, .934 save percentage and 11-5-1 record) last season and working well with Andersen will be tough to unseat.
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