Maple Leafs' goalie plan flipped in 24 hours, and a new option just opened up
Photo credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll left Thursday's game with an injury, but as discussed on Sportsnet's Real Kyper and Bourne show, the Leafs still have a few paths available in goal.
Just as things were turning around for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they ended up losing goaltender Joseph Woll to an apparent lower-body injury, and while the team has only called it a lower-body injury so far, and has not provided a timetable or any additional details.
That leaves Dennis Hildeby as the de facto starter if Woll misses time, and beyond Hildeby the Leafs would likely have to turn to unproven options like Artur Akhtyamov, who has yet to make his NHL debut.
24 hours ago they could trade a goalie, now they might need to spend an asset
It was a talking point on The Real Kyper and Bourne Show on Friday, with co-hosts Nick Kypreos and Sam McKee speaking to former GM Gord Stellick about what the Maple Leafs can do about their goaltender situation.
Stellick was honest, and explained the team may likely need to go the waiver wire route if they are looking to add goalie insurance.
The panel discussed:
Kypreos: 24 hours ago I had them healthy and potentially trading, one, now they have to potentially trade an asset to go get a goalie?
Stellick: It's what they did with Troy Stecher, right now they are saying 'we aren't scouting a particular body,' like if they were healthy, they wouldn't have claimed him.
McKee: It seems like whenever they ask a question about Stolarz they say nothing except for awhile.
Stellick: We heard big name goaltenders don't get traded, we heard Jarry in Edmonton, there's always goalies on waivers all the time, if they [Woll and Stolarz] are going to be out awhile, you go get them.
Stellick: It's what they did with Troy Stecher, right now they are saying 'we aren't scouting a particular body,' like if they were healthy, they wouldn't have claimed him.
McKee: It seems like whenever they ask a question about Stolarz they say nothing except for awhile.
Stellick: We heard big name goaltenders don't get traded, we heard Jarry in Edmonton, there's always goalies on waivers all the time, if they [Woll and Stolarz] are going to be out awhile, you go get them.
All of this is media speculation based on the current depth chart. The Leafs have not publicly indicated that they are pursuing a trade or a specific waiver target.
Right now there are no goalies on waivers, and the team already let go of Cayden Primeau after Woll returned, so it's going to be a luck of the draw they not only get a goaltender on waivers, but are able to claim him before someone else.
As Kypreos noted, the Maple Leafs don't have an asset pool too deep anyways, so the fact that so much happened in the last 24 hours with no real direction as to where to go; it's a frustrating situation.
Why some see a cheaper goalie route for the Maple Leafs instead of chasing a big name
Which is why it's pretty rational that Stellick would advise the team to go the cheaper route when it comes to goalie help.
The team would be able to bring someone in on a much cheaper rate than a trade would bring, but they aren't necessarily getting the strongest name on the market; just a stop-gap option.
If the team is willing to deal a mid-round pick, they could theoretically target someone like Laurent Brossoit, who Chicago has reportedly made available. Anything bigger such as a Tristan Jarry or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen-type name would almost certainly cost more than the Leafs are comfortable paying right now.
Losing Primeau was a necessary evil as the team needed to make room for Woll, and were only dealing with an injury to Stolarz at the time, so losing him wasn't the worst case scenario.
But now that things are slowly turning into that for the Maple Leafs, they'll need to hope that someone like Primeau appears on the waiver wire, because going through a long stretch with only Hildeby and no proven NHL backup would put a lot of strain on both the roster and their playoff ambitions.
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