Who Could Claim the Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltenders?

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ backup race is over.

After an up and down preseason for all three backup contenders, Garrett Sparks has made the team.

Curtis McElhinney, and Calvin Pickard have been placed on waivers.

Each of these goaltenders brings a different aspect that would make them an intriguing waiver claim for a team in need of a backup. But just how many teams are in the market for a goaltender just days before the start of the season?

Atlantic

The Atlantic division is pretty much set in goal:

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Boston, Detroit, Florida, and Montreal are all set with their tandems, while Buffalo seems eager to give Linus Ullmark a shot in the NHL. Ottawa and Tampa are likely set with Mike Condon and Louis Domingue, who both have two years remaining on their contracts.

Condon is a candidate to end up on waivers with his $2.4 million cap hit. After the Zack Smith debacle, however, it would be surprising to see Condon on the wire as well.

Domingue, on the other hand, has a cap hit of just $1.15 million. If he were to be sent down, his entire cap hit could be buried by the Lightning. After a brutal seven-game stint with Arizona, Domingue bounced back with a .914 SV% in 12 appearances with Tampa in 2017-18.

It’s likely that Tampa keeps Domingue, but the contending team could look to a veteran like Curtis McElhinney if he ends up on waivers.

Overall, it’s unlikely any of the three ends up back in the Atlantic division.

Metropolitan

The Metro is a little more uncertain, especially with the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Columbus, New Jersey, the Islanders, and Pittsburgh are all set in goal. Although Michal Neuvirth is expected to miss the beginning of the season, Philadelphia has Alex Lyon, Anthony Stolarz, and Carter Hart to potentially fill in.

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The New York Rangers are another team that could be in the market with Alexandar Georgiev currently slotted in to backup Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers have Dustin Tokarski and Marek Mazanec as veterans in the minors, however, making it unlikely they claim a netminder. Claiming a goaltender would create a logjam in the AHL, which is a situation New York would likely want to avoid.

The biggest wild card in the league has to be the Carolina Hurricanes. They have Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek in goal, which would normally put them in the “set” category. That’s until Darling left the Canes’ last preseason game with a hamstring injury, and Carolina is back in the market.

Depending on the severity of the injury, Carolina could be right back in the race to claim a goaltender on waivers. The Hurricanes don’t have a true number three either. All of Alex Nedeljkovic, Callum Booth, and Jeremy Helvig are not ready for NHL action.

If Darling spends time on the shelf, watch out for Carolina on the waiver wire.

The other team in the Metro you need to watch out for is the Washington Capitals. After dealing Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Copley is set to back up Braden Holtby for the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Copley is coming off of a 41 game, .896 SV% campaign with the Hershey Bears a season ago. Those are…not very good numbers, to say the least. At 26 years of age, he isn’t a prospect either. League-wide, Washington would seemingly be the number one threat to the Leafs.

With Ilya Samsonov now in North America, the Capitals look content to start Copley as the backup. Samsonov could easily find himself in the NHL by the end of the season, and one of McElhinney, Sparks, or Pickard would only be a roadblock for one of the best goaltending prospects in the NHL.

Central

As we head to the Western Conference, the Central is fairly straightforward:

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Most of the division is set. Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Nashville, and St. Louis are all ready to go. Minnesota is likely set as well after Alex Stalock had a bounce-back campaign in 2017-18.

The Winnipeg Jets are the only real threat in the Central. Laurent Brossoit was terrible with the Edmonton Oilers last year, with a .883 SV% in 14 games in the NHL. Eric Comrie will be the backup in due time, but the Jets need a stop gap after Steve Mason was traded in the summer.

As another real contender for the Cup this season, Winnipeg could look to upgrade the backup position on the waiver wire. Any of the Leafs three options would be an improvement over Brossoit.

With Comrie and prospect Mikhail Berdin in the AHL, there wouldn’t be much of a logjam in the system either. If the Jets were to claim a goaltender on waivers, Brossoit could easily back up Comrie in the AHL, while Berdin could begin his pro career with Jacksonville in the ECHL.

Pacific

The final division is comparable to the Atlantic, there just isn’t any jobs available:

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Just about every team in the Pacific is locked in at the goaltending position. Darcy Kuemper has two years on his contract and Calgary has David Rittich and Jon Gillies, while the rest of the division is pretty obvious.

Well, except for the LA Kings and Jack Campbell. Although Campbell is a question mark, the Kings have Peter Budaj and Cal Petersen in the system. It would be a surprise if the Kings were to snag another goalie with so many options in net.

Campbell posted solid numbers with the Ontario Reign a year ago, as well as an impressive .924 SV% in a small sample in the NHL. Eight years after being drafted 11th overall by the Dallas Stars, Campbell will finally be given a chance to play in the NHL.

How Concerned Should the Leafs Be?

After looking at each team’s goaltending depth chart, here are the teams that the Toronto Maple Leafs should be concerned about:

• Carolina Hurricanes (depending on Scott Darling’s health)
• Washington Capitals
• Winnipeg Jets

And the teams that could potentially threaten the Leafs if they decide to go off the board:

• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• New York Rangers
• Minnesota Wild
• Los Angeles Kings

As you can see, the concern among Leafs Nation regarding the goalie situation has been a little overblown. There are two or three teams that could genuinely target one of Curtis McElhinney, or Calvin Pickard.

Teams simply don’t look to claim goaltenders on waivers very often. Malcolm Subban was the only goaltender claimed on waivers prior to the start of the season last year, who was only 23 at the time of the claim, two years younger than the Leafs youngest option (Garret Sparks).

Calvin Pickard went unclaimed last year as well, coming off of 50 games and a .904 SV% with the woeful 2016-17 Colorado Avalanche. Oh, and he was the starter for Canada at the World Championships, winning a silver medal.

If a 25-year-old goaltender like that wasn’t claimed, it’s hard to see one of the Toronto Maple Leafs current goaltenders with a significant shot at getting claimed.

We’ll find out in short order what the Toronto Maple Leafs decide to do, and whether their decisions cost them a goaltender. It sure does look like Leafs Nation is worried for no reason, however.