Free Agent Goaltenders the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pursue
At the beginning of the year the Toronto Maple Leafs had Michael Hutchinson penciled in as their 4th string goaltender.
Fast forward to now and Hutchinson has started three of the last four Leafs games and has won two of those three starts while authoring a 2.36 GAA and .924 save percentage. Has Hutchinson suddenly turned into an all-star calibre goaltender? No, he has not. Goalie performances fluctuate wildly – you really don’t ever know what you’re going to get.
Hutchinson has been a nice surprise, but obviously the Leafs can’t depend on him longterm. With Freddie Andersen seemingly headed to free-agency, the Leafs are going to have to decide on whether or not to give him a raise and a contract extending into his mid-thirties, or if they want to sign someone new.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have the option to move on from Frederik Andersen after this season and sign another goaltender in free agency for much cheaper than what Andersen will command. I have looked over the free agents and came up with a few that I think would fit in nicely with the Leafs.
I am not necessarily considering these goalies to be number one status but a platoon with Jack Campbell next year could be more than sufficient for the Maple Leafs. ( stats courtesy of nhl.com )
Linus Ullmark
Linus Ullmark has been toiling in mediocrity in Buffalo for the last six seasons and I have to imagine that he has had it with this franchise. Ullmark has been with the Sabres for six seasons now, and in that time the team has not only been terrible, but failed to show any progress.
Though a team with Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin will most likely eventually find a way to succeed, they may have to find a different goalie to do it with.
Ullmark is a UFA after this season, signing only a one year deal as an RFA last year for $2.6 million and walking himself to unrestricted free agency. ( salary info courtesy capfriendly.com ).
Ullmark clearly has no interest in staying in Buffalo and may even settle for a slightly smaller cap hit to be on a competitive team. His numbers this year on a terrible Buffalo team are not extraordinary but at a 2.51 GAA and .915 sv % they are actually better than Andersen’s.
Ullmark could be had for $2-3 million per season which would give the Toronto Maple Leafs an opportunity to fill out the rest of their roster with more than league minimum contracts. Zach Hyman is the obvious candidate to benefit from a cheaper goaltender being signed as the difference between a contract for Ullmark and Andersen is enough to sign Hyman to a multi year deal, although the Leafs have and will remain reluctant to sign players entering their 30s to long-term deals, it is something the fans want regardless.
Jordan Binnington
Jordan Binnington is not only a Stanley Cup winner, a world class goalie, and a probable goalie for Team Canada in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Binnington also just so happens to be from Richmond Hill, Ontario, growing up a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He took the league by storm in 2019, bringing the St Louis Blues from the bottom of the league standings to the Stanley Cup.
Since that year he has still been putting up decent numbers, putting up 2.49 GAA and .914 sv % this season and keeping the Blues in every game.
Binnington is an unrestricted free-agent after this season and is making a reasonable $4.4 million for a starting goaltender. He will probably cost a lot, but maybe he would take a slightly lower salary to come play for his favourite childhood team and possibly capture his second career Stanley Cup.
Jordan Binnington will obviously be pursued by other teams this off season but he may just be able to be persuaded to come to Toronto and win a Cup in front of his friends and family.
Philip Grubauer
Philip Grubauer of the Colorado Avalanche has quietly been one of the most consistent goaltenders in the league over the last five seasons.
His last contract was a three year deal giving him an average annual salary of $3.33 million, which is very reasonable for the numbers he has been putting up. This season so far his numbers are sparkling with a 2.01 GAA and .923 sv % and two shutouts for the Colorado Avalanche.
Grubauer will be another highly pursued goalie in the off season but there are very few Stanley Cup contenders that are looking for a goalie next season and the Maple Leafs could offer him his best chance to win.
There is a possibility Colorado re-signs Grubauer, however they seem to believe in the two goalies they have signed beyond this year at a very reasonable cap hit with Pavel Francouz and Hunter Miska. Grubauer could be available but he may be expensive.
The 29 year old is currently the starting goalie for one of the league’s best teams, and its possible that after this season he joins Binnington as the most sought after goalie on the market. The Leafs could pursue him, but it may be an expensive investment.
David Rittich
Toronto Maple Leafs fans know David Rittich very well after this week and Kyle Dubas should sign David Rittich just so that the Leafs never have to play against him again.
Rittich frustrated and shutout the high powered offence of the Maple Leafs for almost two full games before William Nylander finally snuck one by him with just 90 seconds left in the game. The Flames goalie at one point stopped over 70 consecutive shots, not to mention ten straight power-plays. Considering who he was playing, this was an impressive performance.
It is not just this season either, David Rittich has had the Toronto Maple Leafs number over the last couple of seasons. In his last four starts against Toronto Rittich has a 3-1 record with a 1.25 GAA and .966 sv %, just incredible numbers.
This season, even when he is not playing the Leafs Rittich is still putting up great numbers, 2.29 GAA and .919 sv %. With the signing of Jacob Markstrom this past offseason the Calgary Flames have their clear number one goaltender and will likely let Rittich walk in free agency at the end of this season. Rittich is only making $2.75 million the last two seasons and could be had for $3-4 million per season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have some decisions to make this off season and they need to save money anywhere possible. While I do like Freddy Andersen he will be looking for a pay raise this off season and anything over $5 million per season does not make any sense for the Maple Leafs to spend on a goaltender.
Next. Inter Divisional Trade Targets. dark
They have proven this year that they can win with a league minimum goalie and putting out a platoon with Jack Campbell next season will help the Maple Leafs round out the rest of their roster.