Toronto Maple Leafs: Weighing the Garret Sparks Extension

Garret Sparks is perhaps the most controversial figure on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For a team that currently sits 4th overall in the NHL standings, the sheer degree of anxiety and vitriol routinely directed at the backup goaltender is abnormally high.

No other Leaf garners this type of reaction. Players like Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev are given their fair share of internet flack, without a doubt, but any discussions regarding either player are typically underlined by a mutual agreement that both are unsuited for their respective roles.

There is no debate when it comes to Hainsey and Zaitsev. Only hand wringing over illogical usage.

Garret Sparks, on the other hand, divides the fanbase. There is no middle ground with him.

The mere mention of Sparks’ name, in fact, is enough to cordon off Leafs Nation into two distinct factions; those who believe Sparks should be barred from ever setting foot in an NHL crease again, and those ready to sacrifice their lives (and dignity) defending his honour. Naturally, the discourse between the two has been less-than-civil.

With the announcement that Sparks and the Leafs have come to terms on a one-year contract extension worth $750,000 today, it doesn’t appear likely to stop any time soon.

One factor working against the public perception of the Sparks news is its timing.

Sparks is coming off perhaps the worst performance of his brief NHL career on the biggest (regular season) stage possible; allowing 6 goals on 37 shots in a 6-1 loss in John Tavares‘ hotly-anticipated Long Island homecoming. That wound is indeed still fresh in the fans’ minds, and to announce a contract extension less than a week later is not due to go over well, regardless of the details.

Nevertheless, Sparks has actually put together a fine campaign this season in the context of his role as Leafs’ backup. Unfortunately, such context is rarely applied, which also signals the point where Sparks’ perception begins to detach from reality.

Evaluating Sparks through a starter’s lens will lead only to disappointment. He’s the farthest thing from one in every sense – seeing the ice only in sporadic usage and amidst unfavourable matchups.

Of the 14 games which Sparks has started this season, 10 came on the second half of back-to-backs with 6 having been played on the road. Nevermind how the responsibility of a backup is to perform in these exact circumstances. Measuring Sparks up against a crop of goaltenders whose individual usage rates dwarf that of his own is not entirely fair.

Case in point; it’s time to evaluate Sparks in relation to his true peers.

The NHL season is roughly 65 games old at the moment, meaning that the typical backup will have likely played between 10-22 games thus far (roughly once every 6th or 3rd game) depending on their coach’s preferred method of deployment.

There are 23 active goaltenders who fit those criteria. Amongst them, Sparks’ .904 save percentage ranks 10th league-wide, while his -2.83 GSAA (goals saved above average) tops out at 14th, per HockeyReference. Wading now into some of the more nitty-gritty metrics, Sparks has also faced the 7th most HD shots against of anyone in that same group, according to Natural Stattrick’s data – likely a product of Toronto’s porous D corps in front of him – and the .842 HDSV% he’s managed as a result ranks 9th, as well.

Take the majority of statistics against which a goaltender’s performance is judged, apply them with the aforementioned parameters, and Sparks will generally land somewhere between 14th and 7th. In each case, he’s decidedly middle-of-the-pack.

Sparks ranks 9th in even strength save percentage. 8th in even strength goals against. 10th in goalie point share. 8th in goals against percentage.

What this means is that Sparks is the statistical definition of a league-average backup. And that is fine! Although, once his freshly-inked extension kicks in next season, he’ll then become a league-average backup making a below-league-average salary.

When applied to their 2018-19 cap hits, Sparks’ $750,000 would give him the 10th lowest AAV of the 23 goaltenders who have seen a typical backup workload this season. The median age of those backups, mind you, is 27.1. Sparks will celebrate his 26th birthday on June 28th. He’ll a younger-than-average and cheaper-than-average NHL #2 who also happens to produce league-average numbers.

That’s a win in anyone’s book.

Given how perilous Toronto’s cap situation is expected to be in 2019-20, accumulating as many cost-effective deals as possible will be at the top of Kyle Dubas‘ to-do list. The extension for Sparks signifies precisely that.

Sparks is not a star, not by any means. But for Dubas to successfully lock down a league-average player at a below-league-average cap figure – and a goaltender, no less – is exactly what will keep the Leafs’ ship afloat moving forward.

You don’t have to like Sparks, but it’s hard not to like his contract.

Thanks for reading!

All stats courtesy of NaturalStattrick.com & Hockeyreference.com 

All salary figures courtesy of CapFriendly.com