Last Chance for Michael Hutchinson with the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs cannot afford to have Michael Hutchinson in net for much longer.

When Sheldon Keefe announced on Thursday that Michael Hutchinson would get the start on Saturday against the last place Detroit Red Wings, fans and analysts surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs were given reason to believe that this would be his last chance to play in a Leaf uniform.

Playing behind a tired team in the second game of a back-to-back is no easy task for any goaltender, but unfortunately Hutchinson has put himself under the circumstances where this game has become a must-win.

Luckily enough for Hutchinson, this game also has a lot of aspects in his favour.

With the Leafs finally beginning to put together complete offensive performances from all four lines, scoring 19 goals in their last five games, you can expect Toronto to fill the net against a defensively weak Detroit team which has allowed a league-worst 3.89 goals against per game.

The Red Wings are also tied for last in goals for, scoring only 79 this season, which typically comes with being literally the worst team in the NHL.

Hutchinson’s Time in Toronto

If Michael Hutchinson is incapable of putting together a win this Saturday, Kyle Dubas clearly needs to do something.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but unfortunately Frederik Andersen cannot play all of the remaining 46 games in the regular season and a win from your relief goaltender would be nice every once in a while, especially for a team with such little room for error moving forward.

Is it possible that Kasimir Kaskisuo deserves a second chance? Should the Leafs try to trade for another backup? If Hutchinson does manage to win on Saturday, it is important to remember what that game is; one win, against the team that has the worst chance of scoring goals in the NHL.

It is also important to remember the teams Hutchinson has lost to this season, and the way he has lost to them.

His first two starts were against two of the top three goalscoring teams in the league in Washington and Boston, and allowing four goals in each game is not uncommon against them. Although, the Leafs provided themselves with enough offense to win in these games, and some fundamental goaltending blunders cost them two potential statement wins against some of the best teams in the league.

Against the Capitals, the Leafs opened with a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but lost due to four unanswered goals in a ten minute period despite a comeback 4-3 effort in the later stages of the game.

The Bruins game was way more heartbreaking. Not just because it was against Boston, but because the Leafs battled back to tie the game after going down 2-0 in the first period, and still managed to lose it in the third due to Hutchinson’s fundamental issue with rebound control.

As for his games against Montreal, Chicago, and most recently, Buffalo, Hutchinson allowed five goals in each game for a combined .859 save percentage. Against two divisional rivals and a team ranked 25th in the NHL, these performances are unacceptable, and one win against Detroit should not erase his ridiculously bad season thus far.

At 29 years of age, and a career NHL record of 46-48, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to realize who they have in net.

Hutchinson has not shown any signs of being an NHL-ready goaltender as of late, and one win against the worst team in the league should not change the fact they need to look for talent elsewhere.