Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Goalies That Should Replace Freddie Andersen

No. 3: Jack Campbell

Campbell is like having to wait until after dinner to eat desert. You continue to fight through the overcooked steak and mountain of vegetables knowing that you get to finally eat that delicious chocolate cake.

If you’re wondering, Michael Hutchinson is the overcooked steak and Freddie Andersen is the mountain of vegetables. Although Campbell hasn’t proved himself as a true No. 1, or main entre, he’s the light at the end of the tunnel for Leafs fans.

He’s only appeared in three games this year, but in that limited action, he’s been brilliant. With a 3-0 record, with one shutout and only four goals allowed, he’s showing the team that he can be a No. 1 goalie. The one issue though is that every time he goes in net, he seems to get injured.

If Campbell was healthy all season, we may be talking about Toronto differently. Andersen could have been much more rested and it’s possible that his record and stats could have improved because of it. Instead, just like most of the last five years, Andersen is playing too many games and they don’t have a sustainable back-up.

Although he hasn’t played a ton, Campbell has shown enough that he can be a No. 1 goalie. The only thing stopping him is his health. If he can get healthy before the NHL Trade Deadline and show Toronto that he can actually stay in the lineup, then Andersen may have to take a seat.

This wouldn’t the first time a potential Stanley Cup winner ran with a “back-up” heading into the playoffs. In fact, it’s happened often with Mat Murray in Pittsburgh and Jordan Binnington in St. Louis. Even going back to Carolina’s Stanley Cup victory, it happened with Cam Ward.

If he Campbell stays healthy, he has the potential of being another story like those three and convincing all of Toronto that they shouldn’t re-sign Andersen next year.