Toronto Maple Leafs: 5 Potential Goalie Options to Replace Andersen
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a formidable 1-2 punch of Andersen and Campbell going into next season, but are they the right players for the job?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have recently exited the playoffs once again in the 1st round but it can’t be blamed on their goaltending.
Although Campbell did not feature in any of the games, Andersen played well enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win but his efforts were not enough, in the end, to make it to the next round.
Looking into the future with Andersen’s contract expiring following the end of next season, the Maple Leafs have some questions on what they should, if they should promote from within, trade or re-sign Andersen.
If Dubas were to seek other options for next season for whatever reason that may be, here are some possible candidates to take over the starting job or compete with Campbell in a 1a, 1b scenario.
Matt Murray
Standing at 6’4 178lbs, the Thunder Bay, Onatrio native becomes an RFA at the end of this season.
Although he had a below-average season with a sv% of 0.899%, he has performed with the penguins in the prior 4 seasons with an average sv% of 0.919%.
The biggest thing that comes with Murray is that he is a Stanley Cup winner, so he knows what it takes to win.
Another important factor to point out is that he and his goalie partner Tristan Jarry are both RFA’s in need of a new deal. They will both want a raise and Pittsburgh will more than likely have to get rid of one of them. Murray would be more attainable to get as he did have a below-average season and would cost in the region of 4-5mil to resign on a new deal.
Tristan Jarry
The star of the season for the Penguins comes in the form of 6’2 Surrey native Tristan Jarry. He is the one that took the Penguins to the next level this season and made them a team to be reckoned with.
This season Jarry has taken off posting a 0.921 sv%. But, one has to wonder if this is just an outlier season.
Although Jarry has not seen a lot of games prior to this one his highest sv% came in the 2017-2018 season when he played 26 games and had a sv% of 0.908.
This also could be a situation that the Toronto Maple Leafs faced before with Gibson and Andersen , where both goalies are good but the opposing team already has their mindset of who they are keeping.
Alexander Georgiev
It may be the end of the road for Georgiev in the big apple as Lundqvist is still on the books at 8.5 mil and Georgiev will need a substantial raise.
The Rangers already have their goalie of the future with Shesterkin, and with the Rangers so to be a cap team Georgiev is going to be a luxury.
Before the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for Jack Campbell, they were looking at Georgiev as a backup to Andersen and possible goalie of the future, but their asking price was too steep with them presumably asking for Kapanen in the deal.
Georgiev has had 3 consecutively good seasons with posting sv% of 0.918, 0.914, 0.910 on a rebuilding team.
If there is a way to get him without being dumb about it, Georgiev may be a wise choice to go after.
Anton Khudobin
If the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to go the route of having a 1a, 1b system, then this might be their guy.
Khudobin had a great season with the stars, but I would take his numbers with a grain of salt as he played on one of the most defensive teams in the league. In 30 games, Khudobin had a 0.930 sv% which was the highest in the league.
Khudobin is no spring chicken either but, may be able to solidify the crease for a season or two alongside Jack Campbell until one of Joseph Woll or Ian Scott are ready to join the Leafs and make an impact
Timur Bilyalov
The diminutive goalie standing at 5’10 is the wildcard of these potential options for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yes, he is small for a goalie but maybe this is the type of goalie the Maple Leafs need for how they play the game with giving up high danger chances multiple times in a game.
He plays in the KHL and posted a 0.943 sv% and has been posting these types of numbers for quite a few years.He can be seen to make highlight-reel saves in the likes of fellow countrymate Andrei Vasilevsky.
Next. 10 Right Handed Defenseman Who Are Options For the Leafs. dark
There is also the possibility of signing him to the Marlies and seeing how he performs and then promoting to the NHL.