Toronto Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell Expected Out for Weeks

The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending depth has taken a big hit over the past two weeks, as Jack Campbell is now expected out for “weeks.”

This is starting to feel like October, 2018 all over again. Heading into the beginning of the 2018-19 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs had incredible goaltending depth and were set if anyone got injured. However, in a matter of minutes, the team lost both Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney on waivers.

Although this situation is only half due to waivers, the Leafs went from having four goaltenders (Freddie Andersen, Jack Campbell, Aaron Dell and Michael Hutchinson) to two, roughly 10 days into the season. As TSN’s Kristen Shilton reported today, Campbell is expected out for “weeks” and Joseph Woll is headed out west to join the Taxi Squad.

Who knows what “weeks” actually means and what the exact leg injury is that Campbell is dealing with, but after watching Campbell grimace at the end of their 3-2 win Sunday in Calgary, it didn’t look pretty. We all hoped that it was just a stinger and he wouldn’t miss any time, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Toronto Maple Leafs Jack Campbell Expected Out for “Weeks”

Although this injury hurts, it somewhat comes at a lucky spot in the campaign. The Leafs have four true days off from January 31-February 3 and don’t have to play a back-to-back game until February 18. I’m not sure if Campbell would be back for that set, but with the timeframe we heard today, there’s a chance.

Until then, it’s Michael Hutchinson’s time to shine.

After signing with the team last summer, I didn’t expect Hutchinson to get any playing time this year based on the depth ahead of him, but here we are. The Barrie, ON native will be Andersen’s back-up and will probably play a few games before Campbell returns.

Hutchinson is very familiar with the situation he’s currently, serving as Andersen’s back-up last year. Hutchinson played so bad that the Leafs had to get rid of him and find an alternative (ie. Jack Campbell).

In 11 dreadful games, Hutchinson went 4-9-1 with a .886 SV% and 3.66 GAA.

Although Keefe’s comments are correct, he’s pumping his tires a little much because the Colorado Avalanche wanted no part in Hutchinson playing meaningful minutes for them in the playoffs. Hutchinson was the third-string goalie behind both Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz and only played because both players were injured.

In fact, Hutchinson allowed three or more goals in two of his three starts and allowed five in the biggest game of the year. If Hutchinson had performed just average in Game 7 of the Second Round against the Dallas Stars, it probably would have been enough to keep their season alive, but instead they lost.

Let’s hope Campbell’s injury is less serious than expected and he’s back in the line-up soon because Hutchinson doesn’t give the Leafs a great chance to win when he’s in net.