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Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 5 Goaltenders to Replace Frederik Andersen

By Stephen Nixon

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings tends the net against William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 05: Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings tends the net against William Nylander #88 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Staples Center on March 05, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 16: Frederik Andersen #31 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images) /

With one year left on his contract, the starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs is going to be expecting a raise.

Frederik Andersen has been an exceptional starting net-minder for the Toronto Maple Leafs and at his best is a top-five goaltender in the NHL.

It has nothing to do with skill, but the Leafs may be in a better position to move on from Andersen when his contract expires.

At $5 million per season, Andersen is currently ranked as the 14th highest paid goaltender in the NHL.

However, the highest paid goaltender in the league makes doubles his salary, as Carey Price makes $10.5 million per year.

Is Price worth double the amount of Andersen? Maybe he is based off previous accomplishments, but let’s look at some statistics:

Carey Price: 

  • 2017-18: 16-26-7, .900 SV %  (Save Percentage), 3.11 GAA (Goals Against Average)
  • 2018-19: 35-24-6, 0.918 SV %  2.49 GAA
  • 2019-20: 27-25-6, 0.909 SV %, 2.79 GAA

Frederik Andersen:

  • 2017-18: 38-21-5, .918 SV %, 2.81 GAA
  • 2018-19: 36-16-7, .917 SV %,  2.77 GAA
  • 2019-20: 29-13-7, .909 SV %, 2.85 GAA

Andersen has had a higher goals against average in two of the three seasons, but his save percentage and winning record has been better.

Andersen makes more saves than Price and gets paid half as much, which means that he is bound for a raise. (Stats from nhl.com).

Based off those numbers and how valuable he has been for the Leafs, it would be no surprise if Andersen is looking for somewhere between $7-8 million per season.

Andersen will never be able to make as much money as Price because of his previous individual awards, but Andersen’s agent will be able to make a good case that he deserves a raise after showing his stats compared to Price.

Since the Toronto Maple Leafs are already having salary cap issues, it may be best to let Andersen walk if he’s bound to make that much money and try to find a replacement for him, so let’s look at five goaltenders who could do so:

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