Toronto Maple Leafs: Comparing Freddie Andersen and Petr Mrazek

Injuries

Both Andersen and Mrazek have spent time on the injured reserve (IR). It’s one of the hazards of playing a premium position in the NHL.

Fans likely recall Andersen as being injury prone, which actually isn’t the case. That’s more of a recency bias. Andersen’s first stint on the IR with the Maple Leafs didn’t happen until January of 2019. It was a short time away, being activated after only 11 days.

Last season, however, wasn’t as smooth sailing. Andersen went down early in the season with a lower-body injury. A few months later, a knee injury forced him to be on the long term injured reserve (LTIR). While it appeared as though Andersen was preparing to make his return in May, a setback sent him back on the LTIR. Unfortunately, Andersen’s time with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended with him sitting on the bench after losing his starting position due to injury.

In February, Mrazek needed to have surgery on his right thumb. At the time, he was leading all NHL goaltenders in goals-against average and save percentage. The good news for Leafs fans is that while Mrazek was out for two months to repair his thumb, he came back.

Mrazek played a single game in the AHL for the Chicago Wolves as a conditioning stint before being declared healthy enough to rejoin the NHL. He even played in a pair of playoff games. He won his first one while giving up two goals but got shelled in the second, allowing six shots get by him.