3 UFA Goalies Toronto Maple Leafs Should Pursue
Free agency starts at noon on July 28 and the Toronto Maple Leafs could desperately use another goaltender.
Jack Campbell should be the Toronto Maple Leafs starting goaltender next year, but the team needs to find his back-up in free agency. Since Campbell is only making $1.65M this year, the team can afford a decent price-tag for a second netminder.
As the Leafs get set for free agency, they have $9.3M to spend. Although that doesn’t sound like a lot, they don’t need to sign too many people, so they should be able to improve the roster without having to trade anyone.
Alex Kerfoot is still the Leafs biggest trade-chip so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him moved, but the Leafs could still spend wisely on a top-six forward, bottom-pairing defenseman and back-up goalie for $9.3M, without losing him.
Toronto would be smart to spend as little money as they can on a back-up goalie, because the Jack Campbell deal is one of the best contracts in all of hockey. There are barely any other teams that have a starting goalie making less than $2M, so the Leafs need to capitalize on that this season.
There are a few different options that Toronto can do this offseason. They could sign a veteran who’s a legitimate back-up to Campbell, or they could sign a netminder to compete for the starting position. Instead of having a No. 1 and No. 2, the team could go with a 1A and 1B type of situation, to help increase competition and workload.
Campbell deserves to be the starting goalie, but he has a small sample size, so last year could have been more of a fluke than what he normally is. Personally, I think the 1A/1B situation is better, because it’ll keep both goalies engaged all season, compared to having a veteran back-up who’s not expected to win every start he makes.
Here are three goalies the Toronto Maple Leafs should pursue in free agency.
No. 1: Petr Mrazek
Mrazek is an ideal fit as a 1A/1B type of goaltender beside Jack Campbell. Over the course of his career, Mrazek has only started over 50 games twice.
Instead of signing him to be your starting goalie, Mrazek would work well as the back-up to Campbell and someone who’s used to playing once a week, instead of every night.
Mrazek has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career and is an above-average goalie. You wouldn’t feel 100 percent comfortable with him as your number-one heading into a playoff series, but you’d be very confident if he was your back-up.
During his tenure in Carolina, he’s been incredibly competent and has shown to work well in a 1A/1B system. The Hurricanes currently have three UFA goalies on their roster, so it’ll be interesting to see if they come to an agreement with any of them before free agency hits.
If he’s still available on July 28 at noon, the Toronto Maple Leafs should definitely pursue him and offer him a contract to compete with Jack Campbell next season.
No. 2: Linus Ullmark
Standing tall at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Ullmark has good size for a goaltender. His stats haven’t been amazing during his six-year stint in the NHL, but he’s also had the unfortunate circumstance of playing for the Buffalo Sabres, so his numbers could be deflated.
In 117 games played, he has a .912 SV% and 2.78 GAA (stats: hockeyreference.com). Those are essentially the same career stats as Freddie Andersen, who has a career .915% and 2.65 GAA, and Andersen has played on way better teams than Ullmark has.
Based on the fact that he was playing in Buffalo and the salary cap is staying flat, I feel like a team could be able to sign Ullmark for less than what he deserves. As an RFA last year, he made $2.6M AAV, so although he’ll most definitely get a raise, it probably won’t be for more than $3-3.5M per season.
That figure-amount is right in Toronto’s wheelhouse, so if that’s the price that he’s willing to accept, Ullmark would be a very nice back-up to Campbell and could actually surprise many people, as he competes for the starter’s net.
No. 3: Henrik Lundqvist
This would be a huge leap of faith, but who better to learn from if you’re Jack Campbell than one of the best goaltenders of the last 20 years?
Obviously, there’s a huge issue with this signing and it’s Lundqvist’s health. After signing a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals last season, Lundqvist unfortunately had to miss the whole season due to heart surgery.
Lundqvist returned to the ice for “light workouts” recently, but it’s unsure on his status for the 2021-22 season.
The only thing that is missing from Lundqvist’s trophy case is a Stanley Cup ring, so if he wants to compete for one, there’s not too many better options than Toronto. With Campbell set to be the Leafs starter, you wouldn’t need Lundqvist to play for more than 30 games per season, which would be a perfect amount for the 39-year-old.
Washington doesn’t have any goalies signed for the 2021-22 season right now, so if he’s healthy to return to the NHL, he may re-sign with the Capitals, since he never got to play a game there. However, if that doesn’t work and he wants to play for a big hockey market, there’s no better spot than Toronto.
Next. Leafs Rumor: Darcy Kuemper. dark
As previously mentioned, signing Lundqvist would be a big risk, but if he’s healthy enough to play, it would be worth taking a chance to let him mentor Campbell, as well as be a huge influence in the dressing room.