Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 5 Goaltenders to Replace Frederik Andersen

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:

Toronto Maple Leafs – Jack Campbell (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

#1. Jack Campbell

With a career 2.58 GAA and 0.916 SV %, the  Toronto Maple Leafs may already have their replacement for Andersen in-house.

The former 11th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft has proved to be a reliable back-up goaltender, and Leafs have already seen it first-hand.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Campbell from Los Angeles, they were in dire needs for a back-up goaltender, but it’s quite possible that they’re thinking of transitioning him to become their starter.

Campbell only makes $1.65 million and will be under contract when Andersen’s expires after the 2020-21 season, so it’s quite possible the Leafs would love to have their starter on such a small contract so they can use those extra dollars to strengthen their defense.

If the Leafs were able to free up $5 million of Andersen’s contract, it may allow them to sign someone like Alex Pietrangelo to enhance their defense.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 22: skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on December 22, 2019 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Ducks 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

#2. Henrik Lundqvist

With one year left on his contract, Henrik Lundqvist’s massive $8.5 million per year deal is about to expire at the same time as Andersen.

Lundqvist will be 39-years-old when he becomes a free agent, which is old for any professional athlete, but there will most likely still be a burning passion to win inside of him.

The New York Rangers already have two goaltenders ahead of Lundqvist in the depth chart, so if it wasn’t for Lundqvist’s contract and dedication to New York, he’d most likely already would have been gone.

Lundqvist has mentioned numerous times that he loves New York and doesn’t want to leave, but he may not have a choice when his contract is over with. With $97 million in career earnings, money won’t be the main factor in his decision to continue playing hockey, it’ll be the chance at a Stanley Cup.

Having never won a Stanley Cup, Lundqvist doesn’t want to be on the list with goaltenders like Curtis Joseph and Roberto Luongo as the best player to never win, so coming to Toronto for a one-year sprint at Stanley Cup could be his best chance at winning.

#3. Braden Holtby

The former Stanley Cup champion’s game has fallen off a bit, but he’s still a number-one goaltender in the NHL.

However, it may not be with the Washington Capitals anymore, as his contract expires after this season and the team has Ilya Samsonov to replace him on the cheap for another year.

The only issue with the Toronto Maple Leafs getting Holtby to replace Andersen is that his contract expires after this year and not next year. So, in order to grab him, they’d have to sign him this season and move on from Andersen in order to fit everything under the cap.

Having previously made $6.1 million per season, Holtby may be looking for a similar contract, but most likely won’t get it as his game has slipped.

Holtby’s experience and Stanley Cup experience would be very valuable in the playoffs, and as a Canadian kid, playing in a huge hockey market would more likely than not rejuvenate him so he may be worth a look at.

#4. Jake Allen

Jordan Binnington replaced Allen as the starting goaltender in St. Louis, so with Allen’s contract expiring at the end of the 2020-21 season, it may be time to move on.

Both Allen and Binnington are set to become free agents at the same time, so at the current pace that Binnington is playing at, you’d have to imagine that he will be getting a huge raise from his current $4.4 million cap-hit

Therefore, it makes Allen’s time in St. Louis essentially finished, as the Blues won’t be able to afford both goalies.

Although Allen has struggled at times over the years, he’s been solid as the back-up this year. Maybe it’s less pressure, but Allen has seemed to find his game as you can see with this stats:

• 2019-20: 12-6-3, .927 SV %, 2.15 GAA

Allen is 29 years old, and has been through ups and downs as a player, but he has shown that he can be a number-one goaltender in the NHL.

It’ll be tough for Allen to ask for much of a raise from his current $4.35 million per year contract, so you’d be saving money with Allen if the Leafs wanted to acquire him.

He may not have been the starter during the Blues’ cup run, but he was in the room for that championship and can speak to that experience, which is invaluable in the dressing room.