Michael Hutchinson Making the Toronto Maple Leafs Reconsider Shopping for a Goalie

On a night where the Toronto Maple Leafs were poised to have points in 10 straight games, Michael Hutchinson was starting in net.

Saturday night. Hockey Night in Canada. Under the bright lights of the Scotiabank Arena, it was the Toronto Maple Leafs facing the New York Islanders, their newly formed rivals since the John Tavares signing.

Before we talk about this incredible game by Michael Hutchinson, let’s rewind to the start of this season.

Hutchinson secured the back-up job after beating out Kasimir Kaskisuo and the injured (at the time) Michal Neuvirth. All is well — that is until his first game of the 2019-20 season.

The second-half of a back-to-back against the Montreal Canadiens. Hutchinson allowed five goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs gave up a 4-1 lead, reminding us all of game seven in 2013 against Boston.

“It was a definitely turning into an interesting third period,” said Hutchinson, who allowed four goals on 12 shots in the third (via Maple Leafs YouTube channel), “it was unfortunate that we didn’t get the two points, but I thought the guys battled so hard.”

“But what about the next game?” Fans thought — a performance like that cannot happen again.

And well, it did.

A 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, a 4-2 loss against the Boston Bruins and then, two more losses after that.

That was it. The fans started giving up on him and it looked like the players started to give up on him too. And on November 11th, he was placed on waivers and Kasimir Kaskisuo was called up.

He ended up clearing waivers and went onto play with the Toronto Marlies for three games. Hutchinson won every single game with a stellar .942 save percentage. And after those three games, there was a shift in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

The move that changed everything for Hutchinson, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When Sheldon Keefe was brought in as head coach, he believed that Hutchinson hadn’t had a fair chance in net, so the Leafs called him back up. He had a 0-4-1 record and an .879 save percentage in five games with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I think we’ve left Hutchy kind of out to dry,” said Kasperi Kapanen before Hutchinson’s first game under Keefe (via Maple Leafs YouTube Channel), “he’s a tremendous goalie — we haven’t been playing that well in the beginning of the year.”

It was not a “tremendous” performance on any standard by the Toronto Maple Leafs, or Hutchinson that night. He allowed five goals for the fourth time this season against the Buffalo Sabres.

By that time, Hutchinson hadn’t had a game all season where he allowed three or less goals. It was falling apart — for him and for the players in front of him.

“There’s an adjustment both ways. When you go from the NHL down to the American League, there’s an adjustment, and there’s an adjustment coming up,” said Hutchinson (via Maple Leafs YouTube channel).

But the numbers were there. He played incredible in the AHL with a team that played great in front of him. And it’s not like he couldn’t play in the NHL, before this season he had a career .908 save percentage and more wins than losses.

There was no point in giving up on him yet with those numbers. From the pressure to playing well, to blocking out all the noise regarding Kyle Dubas reportedly shopping for a new backup goalie, Hutchinson kept his composure.

Almost a month after the excruciating loss to the Sabres, Hutchinson would get another start, this time against the leagues worst team, the Detroit Red Wings. He allowed only one goal against in a 4-1 win, and came within a minute of a shut-out.

But this was against the NHL’s worst team, who was also last in goals for with 80.

And six days after that game, he would get another start.

The first game since the Christmas break, where the team flew into New Jersey the same day of the game, after having the morning skate in Toronto.

It wasn’t the best game by any standards, but Hutchinson won that game too. He gave up four goals and three in 10 minutes, but it’s still a win and that’s all he needs to boost his confidence.

“At the start of the season I felt like I was playing well, I was making other teams have to make good plays to score goals, but just as a team we weren’t getting those fortunate bounces” said Hutchinson after winning his second game in a row (via Maple Leafs YouTube channel), “those bounces against you, don’t go against all season long.”

And well, Hutchinson was spot on because from there on, he’s been stellar. Even though he’s only played one game since, you can notice how much his confidence has grown since getting his first win.

Fast forward to January 4th, the 29-year-old gets his first start on a non back-to-back at home against the New York Islanders. And now we’re back at the beginning of the story — Hockey Night in Canada under the bright lights of Scotiabank Arena.

Hutchinson records his first shutout 364 days since his last in a 3-0 win. He had 33 saves with some being remarkable, and at some points had the crowd cheering and on their feet chanting his name.

“I’m always appreciative to hear those roars,” said Hutchinson after his first shutout in almost a calendar year (via Maple Leafs YouTube channel), “when it gets really loud like that it’s hard to block it out, so it’s always a nice little gesture from the crowd.”

The team was behind him, and like I said, so were the fans in Scotiabank Arena. He’s changed the opinions of everyone, including the fans since having three straight wins.

And now, we’re in the present. Hutchinson has a .896 save percentage through 10 games with many more likely to come, as it looks like he’s shown that he’s capable of playing in the NHL, and holding a backup spot for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That opinion could change after his next game, or you might believe in him more. But one thing is certain; the Toronto Maple Leafs have always believed in him and he’s shown why in his last three starts.