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UPDATE - Leafs have traded prospect Filip Hallander and a 2023 seventh round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Jared McCann
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a revolving door between the pipes last season, with Frederik Andersen, Jack Campbell, Michael Hutchinson, David Rittich and Aaron Dell on the roster, and six other goaltenders who saw playing time for the AHL Toronto Marlies.
The Leafs will likely be facing a transition at the NHL level as both Andersen and Rittich, but are hoping for stability in goal next season in the minors as both Newfoundland and the Marlies get back to a regular schedule.
Hutchinson, 24-year-old European free agent Erik Kallgren and injury-plagued youngster Ian Scott are under contract for 2021-22 and on Saturday, the Leafs signed goaltender Joseph Woll to a one-year, two-way contract extension for $750,000 (NHL).
After being selected in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Woll played three NCAA seasons for Boston College, won gold for Team USA at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship and bronze at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Woll led the Marlies in games played (15) and wins (7) last season, but posted a 3.54 GAA and .892 save percentage for the struggling AHL affiliate. There is still hope that the 23-year-old Missouri native will be in the loop for a spot on the Leafs roster over the next few seasons, but his growth has been stunted by the Marlies struggles after Sheldon Keefe’s departure to the NHL could in November 2019.
Joseph Woll has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension. #LeafsForever
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 17, 2021
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There has been no word of any progress between the Leafs and Andersen’s camp on a new deal, and based on the number of vacancies and teams looking to address their goaltending, it is probable that one team will put forth an offer that Toronto will not be able to match.
One potential option for the Leafs if Andersen does depart in free agency is Stanley Cup winner Braden Holtby. The 31-year-old struggled with the defensively challenged Vancouver Canucks last season (7-11-3, 3.67 GAA, .889 save %) and is expected to be left unprotected by the Canucks in next week’s expansion draft.
Holtby has one-year left at a $4.3 million cap hit, but the back-loaded contract pays him $5.7 million in salary next season. The Canucks will be protecting starter Thatcher Demko, so it is possible that Seattle will claim Holtby either to be a starter in their inaugural season or flip him to another NHL club.
According to the Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal, at least one Eastern Conference club has inquired about Holtby and Seattle has inquired about Vancouver’s willingness to retain salary in a possible Holtby side deal, which could make it much easier to flip the veteran to a cap-challenged club like Toronto.
The Leafs budget for a tandem partner for Campbell is undoubtedly much less than the $5 million that was allocated for Andersen last season, which is why getting one through the Kraken with them retaining salary is a plausible scenario. *******
Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
Convo on Podcast.#theleafsconvo https://t.co/Xdn3CDLVCI
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