Toronto Maple Leafs: Where Will Frederik Andersen Play Next Season?
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have moved on from Frederik Andersen being their number one goaltender. Thanks to the outstanding play by Jack Campbell this season, he is the new number one guy in Toronto.
With Andersen becoming an unrestricted free agent next month, it is time for him and his agent to start thinking about where the next best fit for him will be.
There are a few teams who will be in the market for a number one goaltender this summer. Which one will be a good fit for Andersen and why?
Here is a list of five potential teams that could have Andersen on their starting roster next season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Until this chapter of Andersen’s life is officially over, it makes sense to leave the Maple Leafs as an option for the Danish goaltender. The door has not completely closed on Andersen playing in Toronto next season, but it is closing.
Andersen is more than likely looking for a multi-year deal, and he is probably looking to get a raise from the $5 million he made per season on his last deal. If both are sticking points for Freddy, then he has indeed played his last game as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto just simply can not afford to pay an aging goaltender who has shown signs of declining play more than $5 million. They need that money to spend elsewhere in their lineup.
The only way Andersen stays in Toronto is on a one-year deal worth no more than $3 million. It would be a show us you still have what it takes kind of deal. Otherwise, it’s goodbye Andersen and hello next team.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have not had much luck with their goaltending over the past couple of seasons. They might look at the Toronto Maple Leafs Andersen to solve their problems. First, they made the mistake of choosing Matt Murray over Marc-Andre Fleury and losing Fleury to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Then, when Matt Murray’s contract was up, the Penguins chose to stick with Tristian Jarry, and let Murray become an unrestricted free agent. Murray then signed with the Ottawa Senators, leaving the number one job in Pittsburgh to Jarry. Although Jarry did have a good season with a 25-9-3 record with a .909 SV% and a 2.75 GAA, he did not look good in the playoffs.
He went 2-4 in the playoffs with a .888 SV% and a 3.18 GAA. This has left some speculating the Pittsburgh might be in the market for a new goaltender. (All stats from Hockey-Reference.com)
Pittsburgh is under new management with former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke at the helm along with Ron Hextall. They could be looking to shake things up in Pittsburgh after a disappointing playoff.
Andersen does not have a winning playoff record, but his overall experience could be something Pittsburgh is willing to bet on. First, we will need to see what they do with Jarry who still has two more seasons left on his current deal worth $3.5 million.
Pittsburgh could trade him, and try to get some pieces or picks in return, or they could expose Jarry in the NHL expansion draft, and hope that the Seattle Kraken take him off their hands.
Washington Capitals
During the last off-season, the Washington Capitals decided to let Braden Holtby go as an unrestricted free agent. The team then signed Henrik Lundqvist the former number one goaltender of the New York Rangers.
Unfortunately for the Capitals, Lundqvist had to have heart surgery and was unable to play during the 2020-21 NHL season. Due to the Lundqvist situation, the Capitals then turned to Craig Anderson.
Anderson however, would only play in four games for the Capitals, leaving the majority of the starts to Vitek Vanecek. The 25-year-old did fairly well in his first NHL season. He posted a 21-10-4 record with a .908 SV% and a 2.69 GAA.
Washington did not have much choice in who their starting goaltender was this season as both Lundqvist, and Anderson did not work out. This is why the Capitals could be heavily interested in the Toronto Maple Leafs Freddy Andersen.
Andersen can provide them with a number one goaltender who has plenty of NHL experience while giving Vanecek more time to adjust to the NHL level with less pressure around him.
The Capitals only have around $9.4 million in salary-cap space for next season (capfriendly.com), and still need to re-sign Alex Ovechkin. Andersen might have to wait, and see what the Capitals do to clear space for Ovechkin, and then see how much is left over for him.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators have no goaltenders signed to their main roster for next season.
The 38-year-old Pekka Rinne has likely played his last game for the Predators. That leaves the team with restricted free agent Juuse Saros as likely their only goaltender for the 2021-22 season once he is re-signed.
The Predators are projected to have about $16.9 million in cap space for next season. That would make it very easy for them to sign Andersen to be their new number one goaltender.
Andersen is likely looking for the same $5 million a season deal he had with the Toronto Maple Leafs or even slightly more than that. The Predators will be one of a few teams that could make a deal like that work under their salary cap.
Any new deal might be shorter than Andersen would like, but he will be 32 at the start of next season. A three-year deal is more likely than a five-year deal at this stage of his career. If Andersen is okay with that, then a deal with Nashville could be perfect for him.
By the time Andersen’s deal is finished, Saros should be more than ready to take over the number one job for the Predators.
Boston Bruins
Both of the Boston Bruins goaltenders Tukka Rask (34), and Jaroslav Halak (36) are unrestricted free agents this summer.
It is unclear if Boston wants to bring either goaltender back due to age, and injury history. However, if they do bring back either of them, it will likely be Rask as he has stated he doesn’t want to play for anyone else.
If the team doesn’t feel the same way, management might look for someone new to wear the black, and gold as the number one goaltender in Boston.
The management team in Boston will have close to $27 million to work with this off-season. That is a lot of cap space for a team that doesn’t have many holes to fill in their line-up.
Goaltending is their biggest concern this off-season, and they have more than enough cap space to give Andersen the $5+ million he might be looking for. They could even sign him with enough money left over to re-sign Rask to be his backup.
If Rask can get fully healthy, a tandem of him, and Andersen would be a huge benefit to the Bruins.
Playing with the Bruins would also allow Andersen to play plenty of games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and try to prove that they made a mistake by letting him go.
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So, will Andersen join the Bruins this off-season? Will he stay in Toronto? Will he try his luck with the Penguins, Capitals, or Predators? Only time will tell.