Toronto Maple Leafs May Have a Bit of a Goaltending Issue

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Petr Mrazek to a three-year deal in the offseason.

Unfortunately, since signing his new contract,  Petr Mrazek has now been on the I.R as many times as he’s suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In yet another injury blow, the Leafs will have to play without their highest paid goalie again this season with Petr Mrazek set to be out at least four weeks.

In the meantime, they’re in a bit of a pickle, because they don’t really have any good back-up options with both their top goalie prospects having hardly played, and their stringer is Michael Hutchinson.

Toronto Maple Leafs Mrazek Injured

Petr Mrazek was injured in his first game starting for the Toronto Maple Leafs and didn’t finish. He returned to the lineup last week, for a shaky performance (which he ultimately won) against Detroit.

In the games he has played, Mrazek has been underwhelming, he let in three goals in the first period of his debut against the Ottawa Senators. However, he did shut the door admirably in the second period before his injury but still left the game with a save percentage of .885%. His second game wasn’t much better, he let in four goals in total, including three in the third period. Even though the Leafs won, Mrazek left that game with a .871% save percentage.

In the off-season with the departure of Frederik Andersen, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Petr Mrazek to a three year contract, carrying a $3.8 Million AAV.  Jack Campbell was coming off a fantastic audiation for the starter’s role, but with limited experience, the Leafs needed someone who could be a starter if necessary, but who could also back-up.

For what the Leafs were looking for, Mrazek is basically the perfect fit – he and Campbell don’t even combine to make the cost of one of the better starting goalies, and provide potentially great value on the investment.

Based on the market, the deal was more than fair for both sides. Over the previous three seasons Mrazek ranks fourth league-wide in GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected, per Evolving Hockey). The only real concern with this deal was and is that Mrazek has a history of injuries, so there was always a possibility of this occurring. It’s still early though and Mrazek still has almost the entirety of is three year deal to make up for some early woes.

Hopefully for his sake and the Leafs, Mrazek is able to bounce back and prove to Leafs nation why he’s deserving of this contract. If he can stay healthy, he could be a real game changer for the Leafs. They don’t have much in the system to compensate if he doesn’t.