The Toronto Maple Leafs are having an excellent season.
Tavares is everything we hoped he’d be, Rielly is having an incredible year, Andersen already has 20 wins and is among the league’s top goaltenders.
Without saying anything about Matthews, Marner, Kapanen and others, Leaf fans are enjoying an embarrassment of riches. Despite all the record-breaking this year, there are some things to consider– One of which being starting Garret Sparks more often.
Let’s look at why.
He’s Got Nothing to Prove Elsewhere
After spending years in the minors and leading the Marlies to their first-ever Calder Cup, Sparks has nothing to prove in any league except for the NHL. Yes, his past couple games haven’t been great, but he still holds a 5-1-1 record so far this season. Considering he always starts the back end of back-to-back games with a team that has Ron Hainsey on its top defence pairing, that counts for something, even though we score a ton.
Andersen Will Need a Break Down the Stretch
Out of 37 games so far this year, Andersen has played 30. Many teams tend to give their backups around 20 starts a season as days of having Martin Brodeur starting nearly all of them appear over. This couldn’t be truer for the Maple Leafs, who tend to allow a lot of shots on net.
In order for Andersen to maintain his excellent play, he’ll need to rest a bit more than he did last season, among other things. The Leafs will are a cup contender and sorry, but chasing the President’s Trophy means nothing compared to the one up for grabs in June.
He Can’t Get Better Unless He Plays
That’s a risk we’ll have to accept. 35-year-old Curtis McElhinney is gone now and though on a lot of nights he was flopping all over the place, he made saves. He was great for us, but Dubas took a fair chance to bet on the potential of a goalie that’s a decade younger.
Unfortunately, it takes time. It took years for McElhinney to get where he is in the NHL, just like it is now for Garret Sparks (though Sparks got to the show much quicker). Goalies are voodoo, and Sparks seems to either play lights out or terrible on any given night. How’s he supposed to get better if he doesn’t get to play more and find comfortable consistency in his game?
In Closing
It might be ugly now and then, but I believe playing Sparks more helps the Leafs most long-term. He needs more time so we can see what we have in him at the NHL level. It took him a long time to be great in the minors, but he did. He’s capable.
Not only does that help Sparks improve, but it also gives Andersen a break and allows him to be ready when it matters most– the playoffs. That’s more important than perhaps some more wins that may or may not affect the standings (Tampa isn’t giving any ground at the moment).
There might be some growing pains, but we know that already. Life is good in Leaf land, so let’s not worry about Sparks’ play just yet.