Hot Toronto Maple Leafs Rumor: Jack Campbell to New Jersey?

We may have seen Jack Campbell’s last game as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Larry Brooks of The New York Post is reporting that the New Jersey Devils are very interested in current Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell, if he becomes a UFA on July 13th.

After resurrecting his career and becoming a No. 1 goaltender with the Leafs, Campbell is a pending UFA and will have the opportunity to sign with any team team he wants in a few weeks, so this is an exciting time for Campbell, who’s finally the bell of the ball.

If the New Jersey Devils are willing to give Campbell the dollar-amount he wants, he could be apart of that franchise before we know it.

Toronto Maple Leafs Jack Campbell Rumours are Heating Up

In Brooks’ article, he made the case that not only is New Jersey very interested in Campbell’s services, but there may be a trade in-place to make sure they get his rights before anyone else.

Here’s an excerpt from that article:

“We’re told by one informant that New Jersey may attempt to jump the process by dealing for the 30-year-old’s rights if the Maple Leafs cannot or will not extend the netminder….The idea would be to move Mackenzie Blackwood, whose career has somehow careened off course during a couple of drama-filled seasons this fragile team does not need.”

If Campbell wants to play for New Jersey, this could be a win-win for both franchises, as Toronto unfortunately can’t (nor should) offer “Soup” a huge salary or long-term deal to play with the Leafs. He’s a great goaltender, but his salary won’t make sense with how Toronto’s team is currently constructed.

Blackwood, on the other hand, only makes $2.8M AAV and is on a one-year deal.

The 25-year-old has the ability to be a No. 1 goalie for Toronto, or he could be the back-up to Petr Mrazek and/or someone else that the Toronto Maple Leafs sign. He has great size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) and the fact that he was selected in the second-round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, shows that many thought he had the skills to be a future starting goaltender.

Blackwood had a great start to his career, posting a 2.69 GAA, .917 SV% in his first 70 career games, but injuries have caused his stats to falter over the past two years (stats: hockeydb.com).

Similar to Campbell, playing in Toronto could help resurrect Blackwood’s career and the Leafs may be able to find a diamond in the rough if they made this deal.

This is a very interesting rumor to keep an eye on and one that could actually benefit both organizations.