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Looking for answers in the offseason - Goaltending Pt 2 |
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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has to be pondering and investigating what avenues he will pursue this summer in a number of different areas to find a pathway to improving his club’s chances of playoff success after a record-breaking regular season resulted in another early postseason exit. What the Leafs do in the trade market and/or free agency will depend on what they do with the players currently on their roster.
We continue to look at the Leafs goaltending situation, going under the assumption that Jack Campbell’s contract demands are out of Toronto’s price range.
The assumption currently is that Dubas will find a way to move the two remaining years of Mrazek’s contract in a similar way to how they moved Nick Ritchie. With a number of clubs looking for help in goal, the Leafs should be able to deal a veteran netminder who has put up quality numbers in the past, but it may require Toronto to take a contract back or retain salary.
If the Leafs have to look outside the organization for help between the pipes, there are a few free-agent options. Marc-Andre Fleury is 37 and put up decent numbers with a bad Chicago club before being traded to Minnesota at the deadline. Dubas was rumored to be kicking tires on the three-time Cup winner after Campbell and Mrazek went down, but there continues to be rumors that Fleury will return to Pittsburgh for a final season.
Darcy Kuemper had an excellent season with Colorado and depending on how far he goes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his price tag could be higher than Campbell on the open market.
Ville Husso split time as the #1 in St. Louis and led the Blues with 25 victories, but that was the first significant action for the 27-year-old, and he struggled in the playoffs replacing the injured Jordan Binnington.
The more plausible option for the Leafs is replacing Campbell in a trade. Dubas could opt for an unsigned RFA that a team may want to move for cap reasons, like Alexandar Georgiev or Ilya Samsonov, or someone with a year left like veterans Semyon Varlamov, Jonathan Quick, or Cam Talbot, but if he is looking for a long-term solution, exploring the rumors that Anaheim is shopping John Gibson, the possibility that Vegas moving on from Robin Lehner, or that New Jersey will deal Mackenzie Blackwood may be the way that Toronto goes.
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