#4. Leafs Back-Up Goaltending
Alright this may not be a specific moment, but it needs to be talked about.
All things considered, Freddie Andersen had a pretty good year. It’s his back-up that screwed the team from becoming a top-four seed in the Conference.
Remember, Michael Hutchinson? How could you forget? The team decided they liked his awful play so much last season, they brought him back for another go-around. Joking aside, he’ll make a great goaltender for the Toronto Marlies, but his stats with the big-club were awful.
Michael Hutchinson:
- Stats: 4-9-1 record, 3.66 GAA, 0.886 SV%
His GAA was almost a full goal more than Andersen’s last year, so he gave the team a much worse chance to win when he was in net. The team knew that if they didn’t score five goals, they didn’t have a chance to win. In those 14 games played, Hutchinson allowed four or more goals nine (!) times.
Within those nine games, the Leafs scored three goals every time, but once. So it’s not like the offense ran cold for his record to be so terrible. The offense gave the Leafs a chance to win every night, but Hutchinson gave up way too many goals.
The Leafs finished 11 points behind the Lightning for second place in the Atlantic Division last year, so if the team had a decent back-up goalie all season, it’s possible that they would have got at least six more wins on the year. A good back-up would’ve meant even more rest for Andersen, who would have played even better when called upon, as a result. Thank goodness the team traded for Jack Campbell, or it could have been even worse in 2020.