The Toronto Maple Leafs could use a veteran back-up to split time with Jack Campbell, so could recently bought-out Braden Holtby or Martin Jones be the answer?
With free agency starting, the Toronto Maple Leafs number-one priority should the goaltending position.
Toronto could address their back-up position in two ways. They could sign a player who will compete for the starting job nightly, or they could sign a veteran who will be a great mentor to Campbell and play 30 games a year.
Both options are good, but the latter is better.
I know it was only one year, in a shortened season, but Jack Campbell showed enough to be the team’s number-one option. He should play a minimum of 50 games next year to show the Leafs front office that he’s deserving of an extension.
At $1.65M, Campbell has one of the best goaltender contracts in hockey and Toronto needs to capitalize on that. Instead of spending $4-5M on a 1A/1B type of netminder, they’d be better off spending $2M or less on a back-up, who will be a great side-kick.
Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Pursue Braden Holtby?
Since winning a Vezina Trophy in 2016 and Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, Holtby’s game has completely dropped off. As shown by the JFreshHockey card below, it hasn’t been a good few years for the 31-year-old netminder.
Braden Holtby, bought out by VAN, didn't struggle as much this season as he did in his last year with Washington but he was still below-average. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/PBRciKR5Z6
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 27, 2021
Although he’s struggled in recent history, he is still a Stanley Cup winning goaltender. In the right circumstance as a back-up goalie, with a solid defense in front of him, it’s possible that he could return to form. Also, since he was bought-out, a team should be able to sign him cheap.
Opinion: Holtby is worth taking a chance on if you sign him to a one-year deal, worth $1.5M or less. Anything more would be too risky.
What About Martin Jones?
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been considering Martin Jones and that scares the heck out of me.
I’m not saying that the JFreshHockey card’s are the only analytical stats to follow, but as shown below, Jones is a very risky player to sign.
Martin Jones, bought out by SJ, has not performed well for quite awhile and has a tendency to get blown out. #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/UChwQ8TidE
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 27, 2021
Similar to Holtby, Jones had a pretty good run during 2015-2018, but after that it’s been ugly. Jones finished seventh and sixth in Vezina trophy in two of those three seasons which is very good, but those were the best year’s of his career.
It feels like Jones was a beneficiary of some very good San Jose Sharks teams in front of him, because once the team began it’s rebuild, Jones struggled tremendously. Even prior to the Sharks going into a complete rebuild, Jones’ stats were awful in the 2018-19 season, where he posted a .896 SV% and 2.94 GAA in the regular season, despite his team going 46-27-9 and eventually losing in the Western Conference Finals.
Jones’s stats didn’t get better in the playoffs, as he finished with a .898 SV% and 3.02 GAA in 20 starts (stats: hockeyreference.com). It’s safe to say that if the Sharks had mediocre goaltending, compared to what Jones provided them, that they should have won the Stanley Cup that season.
Opinion: Toronto should stay away from Jones because even on a cheap contract, he’s not worth the risk.