The Toronto Maple Leafs will complete the first leg of their four-game road trip in Winnipeg with their second meeting with Jets at the Bell MTS Centre on Friday. The Leafs hope to repeat the solid effort they put forth in their 3-1 win on Wednesday to increase their North Division lead to five points.
Goalie Jack Campbell practiced on Thursday with the club after making 26 saves to improve his record to a perfect 7-0 on the season and will get the start, but without the services of starter Frederik Andersen, the Leafs are carefully managing Campbell’s workload due to a lingering lower body issue.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Andersen saw a specialist on Thursday and that he is “progressing well” from the re-aggravation of a lower body injury that occurred on March 20 and that he will be re-evaluated next week, but that he will not join the club on the current road trip.
Both situations leave Leafs GM Kyle Dubas with an uncertain path leading up to the April 12 trade deadline. Dubas has long been rumored to be looking to add to his club’s forward depth, but if Andersen and Campbell’s health concerns linger, it may force Toronto to trade for some insurance between the pipes.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Sportsnet FAN 590 on Friday said that Dubas has done his due diligence and called around the league about potential available goalies, including either Darcy Kuemper or Antti Raanta in Arizona, Buffalo’s Linus Ullmark and possibly Calgary’s David Rittich. Raanta, Ullmark and Rittich are pending unrestricted free agents, while Kuemper has another year left of his contract.
Friedman believes that any decision regarding adding a goalie will happen late next week when the picture becomes clearer on Andersen’s return, but that Dubas is not eager to use the Leafs limited cap space on another goalie unless it is absolutely necessary. Andersen came back too early when Campbell suffered a setback early last month, in part because the club needed him, but also because of his desire to play well in advance of his pending free agency this summer.
Toronto’s cap situation will limit their ability to make multiple moves and according to Friedman, placing Andersen on LTIR is not an option. The Leafs might be willing to subtract a salary from their existing roster to make an upgrade. In spite of the play of Alex Galchenyuk as a stopgap on the left side with John Tavares and William Nylander, Dubas is looking to add another top-six/top-nine forward, likely because of the age and fragility of veterans Joe Thornton and Wayne Simmonds.
Adding a defenseman might also be in the cards for the Leafs if they can make the numbers work, but that move may be impossible if there remains uncertainty between the pipes.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»