Toronto Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell Should Replace Frederik Andersen

It may be time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to look at a replacement for Frederik Andersen.

Earlier this week, I wrote about the five replacements for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen and one name stuck out.

Jack Campbell.

It may sound crazy that the Leafs should move on from Andersen and if this were a non-salary cap world, I would agree.

Toronto Maple Leafs Goalies

Andersen is arguably a top-10 goaltender in the NHL and that is hard to replace. For the first time in his career, Andersen was named to the NHL All-Star team and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him get that nod multiple more times throughout his career.

Overall, it seems pretty clear that having Andersen as your number-one goaltender will help you make the playoffs, although it’s still uncertain if he can take you past the first round.

Although, you might have more confidence in Andrei Vasilevskiy or Tuuka Rask every night, Andersen is nicknamed “Steady Freddie” for a reason.

So, why get rid of him?

When Andersen becomes a free agent after the 2020-21 season, he’s going to demand a raise from his current $5 million per year contract.

There’s no way he’s going to ask for less than $7 million per season, so if that’s the case it would wise to let him walk.

With that money off the books, it would be a good decision to promote Jack Campbell as the starter and hope that Ian Scott, Kasmir Kaskisuo or Joseph Woll are ready to be an NHL back-up to optimize savings.

Campbell may have developed at a slower pace that some other goalies but it’s better than being rushed into the league. Although Campbell has only been in the NHL as a regular back-up for two seasons, his stats have been impressive.

Posting a career 2.58 GAA and 0.916 SV %, Campbell has comparable stats to Andersen who has a career 2.63 GAA and .917 SV %, albeit in 305 more NHL games.  (Stats from nhl.com).

If you forecast the 2021-22 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs currently have roughly $16 million in cap-space and have 11 players to sign. Although their core is intact, that money will go quickly, as they still need to re-sign key players like Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott.

With the little money they have, the team would be better suited at finding talented forwards and defenseman to fill the gap up-front. There was a reason why Campbell was once drafted 11th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft and it’s because he has the skill set to become a starting goaltender in this league.

You don’t need a star goaltender to win a cup, but instead need a fully committed team. If the Leafs can use Andersen’s money to compliment their offensively gifted forwards with a committed defensive core, Campbell will only have to be slightly above average for this team to succeed, which makes his $1.6 million per year contract so valuable.

The 2020-21 season should be used as a tryout for Campbell and if he’s able to provide another season of great stats and sold net-minding, a promotion will be worthy.