A Review of the 2021-22 Opening Night Toronto Maple Leafs Roster

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 13: Empty seats are seen prior to play between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 13, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 13: Empty seats are seen prior to play between the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 13, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
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The Toronto Maple Leafs opened their campaign last season with a 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Arena.

Although the majority of that opening night roster remains with the team, several will not be playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

Looking back, there are some names that barely lasted a few weeks in Toronto and others we’ve only recently seen depart at free agency.

With the idea of comparing them to where the team is right now, here is a reminder of last season’s opening night roster.

Toronto Maple Leafs Goalies On 2021-22 Opening Night

Opening night saw the Toronto Maple Leafs moving on from Freddie Andersen, who departed in that summer’s free agency, with the starting spot going to a goalie that had yet to prove himself a true number-one goalie, and still really hasn’t.

Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell, of course, ended up going on to represent the team at the NHL All-Star Game and at one point seemed a decent chance at winning the Vezina Trophy.

Then December started, and he was among the worst goalies in the league the rest of the way. His form diminished as the season went on and this summer the Toronto Maple Leafs opted to move on from him, allowing him to sign a deal as an unrestricted free agent with the Edmonton Oilers.

He will earn $5 million per season for the next 5 years in Alberta; a price that the Leafs were wise to pass on.

Backup: Petr Mrazek

Backing Campbell up was Petr Mrazek, who also finds himself no longer lining up for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Arriving as a great choice to partner Campbell in a true 1A/1B tandem, he never really filled anyone with much confidence.

He’ll be sporting a Chicago Blackhawks jersey this coming season, with the remaining two years of his $3.8 million per season contract moved in a trade of draft picks.

Ultimately, all it cost to get rid of Mrazek was 13 slots in the draft, after the player the Leafs wanted was already gone.  They ended up with their second choice, the player they would have kept if they had not made this trade, based on who was available at the time.  Therefore, the cost to move Mrazek was negligable.