Toronto Maple Leafs Goalie Trade Possibilities
By John
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in search of a team that is going to bring winning back to Toronto – and it all starts with the right goalie.
The Maple Leafs and Mark Hunter have done a great job in a short period of time to completely overhaul the teams list of prospects from some of the poorest in the league to arguably the best. But it is no surprise to say that they are heavily invested in their forwards in terms of depth and the defensive prospects receive an average grade, at best. What is often overlooked however is the total lack of depth in the goalie position.
With Reimer now traded to San Jose, the Leafs depth consists of Bernier, Bibeau, and Sparks. Bernier once thought of as a number 1 goalie has all but played himself out of that position. Bibeau, who started as the top goalie prospect for the Leafs has had a solid but uninspiring season.
Sparks has been the only one that has shown, well, a spark. But let us not forget he is one season removed from playing 36 games for the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears (and one game this year). While he has continued to impress and surprise at each level he has competed on; he is still very much an unknown commodity. While I think the Leafs need to draft at least one goaltender this and next year, goalies take a long time to mature enough to compete at the NHL level. So, I thought it would be a good idea to look at who the Leafs could target in a trade.
While he has continued to impress and surprise at each level he has competed on; he is still very much an unknown commodity. While I think the Leafs need to draft at least one goaltender this and next year, goalies take a long time to mature enough to compete at the NHL level. So, I thought it would be a good idea to look at who the Leafs could target in a trade.
The Leafs would want a goalie that is young enough to grow with the team to be apart of the core going forward. If Lou ‘s history shows anything, it shows how important he thinks a number one goaltender is to the success of a team. He drafted Martin Brodeur 20th overall in the 1990 draft and had him for more years than we can count. Then he traded the 9th overall pick in 2013 draft (Bo Horvat) for Cory Schneider, a young
He drafted Martin Brodeur 20th overall in the 1990 draft and had him for more years than we can count. Then he traded the 9th overall pick in 2013 draft (Bo Horvat) for Cory Schneider, a young 27-year-old at the time, who will be around for the Devils for a long, long time. To keep this tradition going I only added guys I thought were young enough to be part of that core going forward, even if they aren’t yet ready to play in the NHL or take over full time as a number 1 goaltender.
To add to the fun I graded each goaltender based on my own opinions of who the Leafs should target. The grades are based on the following
A ; Leafs should go hard after these guys. These guys have true top goalie potential. Possible top 10 goalie in the league at some point.
B ; Secondary options to go out and trade for. Good but maybe not great. Top 15-25 in league potential.
C ; Probably not an upgrade from our current goalie prospect pool. Not likely Cup contending goalies. Maybe good for stop gaps.
*These grades have nothing to do with likelihood of the Leafs trying to trade for them, it only represents who I think they should look into.
**Stats are as of March 6, 2015
C+. <p>6’3”, 218 lbs, 23 years old.</p><p>5th round, 124th overall Tampa Bay Lightning</p><p>29 GP, 3.00 GAA, .903 SV%</p><p><strong><a href=. G. Syracuse Crunch. KRISTERS GUDLEVSKIS
A-. <p>6’3”, 207 lbs, 21 years old.</p><p>1st round, 19th overall Tampa Bay Lightning</p><p>18 GP, 2.64 GAA, .914 SV% Tampa Bay Lightning</p><p>12 GP, 1.94 GAA, .935 SV% Syracuse Crunch</p><p>The likely heir apparent to Ben Bishop. He will be an affordable goaltender that can carry a team on his shoulders any night. I expect him to stay with Tampa and be their starting goalie as soon as next season.</p>. G. Tampa Bay Lightning/Syracuse Crunch. ANDREI VASILEVSKY
A. <p>6’4”, 179 lbs, 21 years old.</p><p>3rd round, 83rd overall Pittsburgh Penguins</p><p>31 GP, 2.10 GAA, .931 SV% Wilkes-Barre Scranton</p><p>5 GP, 1.98 GAA, .933 SV% Pittsburgh Penguins</p><p>Pittsburgh Penguins top goalie prospect. <strong><a href=. G. Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. MATTHEW MURRAY
B+. <div class=. G. Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. TRISTAN JARRY
6’2”, 194 lbs, 21 years old.
2nd round, 44th overall Pittsburgh Penguins
20 GP, 2.33 GAA, .922 SV% Wilkes-Barre Scranton
The second of two top goalie prospects in the Penguins system. Being a year younger than Murray might make him the guy to hold onto with Fleury still between the pipes for Pittsburgh for the next few years.
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B+
6’2”, 194 lbs, 21 years old.
2nd round, 44th overall Pittsburgh Penguins
20 GP, 2.33 GAA, .922 SV% Wilkes-Barre Scranton
The second of two top goalie prospects in the Penguins system. Being a year younger than Murray might make him the guy to hold onto with Fleury still between the pipes for Pittsburgh for the next few years.