Signing Michal Neuvirth
When the Leafs traded away their backup goaltender, Sparks, it created a hole in their roster. Dubas acted swiftly to try and address that need. Still hamstrung by cap issues, the Leafs were unable to make a splash at the position.
The action taken by the team was to sign Michal Neuvirth to a professional tryout contract (PTO). That will make training camp more interesting. He and Hutchinson will each be considered for the backup job.
Neuvirth is 31-years-old. He has bounced around the NHL and had AHL stops in between. He even played 24 games in Czechoslovakia, his home country, during the lockout season of 2012-13. Should he make the Leafs, it will be his fifth NHL club.
Neuvirth owns a winning record in the league. He also has a career 0.910 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.71. Hutchinson is a couple of years younger, but owns similar career numbers along with a winning record in the NHL. His save percentage is 0.908 and goals against average is 2.70.
Should the training camp competition have Neuvirth emerge as Frederik Andersen’s backup, it puts the Leafs at risk. He has struggled to stay healthy in his career. If he is plagued by injury, it could mean that one of the young prospects gets called up earlier than anticipated.
The fear would be that if Neuvirth makes the club, the Leafs may expose Hutchinson to waivers. That was how Toronto lost Curtis McElhinney ahead of last season. This probably gives Hutchinson a slight advantage going into camp.
Grade: C