Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Goaltender Options for the 2022-23 Season

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It’s hard to believe that the Toronto Maple Leafs may have a new goaltender next year after their most recent starter went to the NHL All-Star Game this past season.

When you think of the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending history, there are a ton of great names. From Johnny Bower, Terry Sawchuk, Felix Potvin, Curtis Joseph, Ed Belfour and most recently Jack Campbell, the goaltender is always a beloved player in this city.

Well, at least, it’s always been that way for me.

I never played the goaltender position, but it always fascinated me. The idea of jumping in front of a 110 MPH Zdeno Charo slap-shot seemed nuts, but I guess that’s why I always had so much respect for them.

It’s the hardest job in hockey because stopping or allowing one goal can be the difference in your season or career. If you stop one less puck every other night, that could be the difference between playing in the NHL or the ECHL.

If you have a 2.50 GAA and .920 SV%, you’re awesome, but if you have a 3.20 GAA and .895 SV%, you’re a bum and should never play the sport again.

Forwards don’t have to worry about that pressure every night.

However, as we look at the Leafs goaltending position next season, they have a big question to answer. Do they re-sign Jack Campbell and if they do, what price can they pay him?

Are there better options in free agency, or can the team make a trade for someone, similarly to how they acquired Freddie Andersen and Jack Campbell in the first place?

We’ll have to see, but here are three realistic options in-net for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

May 14, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell (36 Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1: Jack Campbell

The most obvious choice (and probably most popular) would be to skip your entre and order the “SOUPPPP” again.

I know Campbell is 30-years-old, but that’s still very young as a goaltender. Realistically, he probably has another five good seasons left in him before we’d expect to see a major decline.

Also, because of his age, we seem to forget that he’s only been a starter in this league for one season. That should be looked at in a positive more than a negative, because if you think about it, Campbell technically just finished his rookie season.

If he made the NHL All-Star team in his “rookie” season, you should expect him to keep this up for this sophomore campaign and beyond.

Campbell has leverage as an Unrestricted Free Agent, but it’s not like some team is going to pay him $6 or $7M-plus to play for them. Matt Murray is obviously a few years younger than him, but he won two Stanley Cup’s and only received a $6.25M contract.

I’d be shocked if another market offered him more than $5M. Also, what team is better for him than the Toronto Maple Leafs? If a team needs a goaltender, it usually means they’re not a good team, so Campbell could take a few more bucks to play on a terrible team, or he could take somewhat of a discount to play in a city that loves him and that he’s familiar with.

Obviously the next two options are great too, but I’d be shocked if Campbell isn’t the Leafs goaltender next year.

Mar 6, 2020; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Maple Leafs Option No. 2: John Gibson

The Leafs have made a trade for an Anaheim Ducks goaltender before, so they could definitely do it again, as rumors are flying about them being interested in John Gibson.

The American-born goaltender was unbelievable three years ago, but his stats haven’t been that spectacular since. Clearly, his stats don’t show the entire picture because the team in front of him as been much worse, but it’s never great to see his SV% dip close to .900, when he’s a career .915 goaltender.

Gibson, however, is only 28-years-old and makes $6.4M per season. That cap-hit may seem high but a Petr Mrazek and Alex Kerfoot trade pays for that contract pretty quickly.

When it comes to the playoffs, you want steady goaltending. You don’t want to “hope” for that, but instead want to know that it’s going to happen. Compared to Campbell, Gibson is more of a sure-thing when the playoffs hit, as he’s shown in the past that he can help his team win a few rounds.

During the 2017 playoffs, Gibson played 16 games and had a 2.59 GAA and .918 SV%, as the Ducks came ever so close to reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. With a solid defensive-core in front of him, Gibson could be the real number-one goalie that Toronto has been missing. (all stats from hockeyreference.com).

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 17: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

No. 3: Marc-Andre Fleury

Instead of wasting assets to acquire him at the NHL Trade Deadline this year, maybe the Leafs plan all-along was to sign Marc-Andre Fleury in the offseason?

Fleury’s age (37-years-old) is an issue but he’s still only one season removed from winning a Vezina Trophy. As a free agent, Fluery now has the ability to play anywhere he wants, so what better team to sign with than the Leafs?

As a Canadian, he’s never played in a Canadian market which may intrigue him, and he could be the missing feature of a Leafs line-up that has yet to reach a second round since 2004.

Fleury doesn’t need to play 60 games either which probably helps him.

As shown by Jack Campbell last year, he only played 49 games and the team still had their best regular season points total in franchise history. As such, Toronto only needs 40 regular season games out of Fleury and to guarantee that he’s healthy for the playoffs.

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Fleury has three Stanley Cup rings and has played in five Stanley Cup Finals. That leadership and hunger to win in the biggest moments could be a huge advantage for a Leafs team that’s yet to get over the hump.

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