Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Best Trade Options to Find a New Goalie

 Toronto Maple Leafs Goalie Options

All of these options represent goalies that might very well stake a claim as the full-time backup option for the Toronto Maple Leafs and as a result would be incredibly likely to be picked up on the waiver wire.

They absolutely represent short-term benefit in terms of plugging the leak right here and now, but ultimately would cost the organization assets.

James Reimer (San Jose Sharks)

The first name is a familiar one for Toronto Maple Leafs fans and you’d have to imagine he’d be welcomed back with open arms. However, he’s all but guaranteed to be a waiver pick-up because he is still a proven NHL option.

Despite playing for the lowly San Jose Sharks last season, he still managed a 2.90 goals-against-average and 0.911 save percentage, which are at the very least league average despite his team.

At 34 years old and with just this year remaining on a contract with a $2.25 million cap hit, he offers decent enough value too.

However, you have to question whether the Toronto Maple Leafs would be that keen to run their goaltending as a trio instead of the standard duo and whether it’d be a wise use of their LTIR money.

Anton Khudobin (Dallas Stars)

Another older option and one that showed he still had it a couple of years ago when the Dallas Stars went on their play-off run. The big concern with adding Khudobin is his injury history, as he currently tries to make his way back from last year’s season ending knee injury.

Adding him would probably not help the team much in that regard, nor would his $3.33 million cap hit – his contract, although expiring this summer, could very quickly look like Petr Mrazek’s contract last year.

Alex Lyon (Florida Panthers)

Perhaps the least likely of these to happen, given he is on contract with one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Atlantic Division rivals, namely the Florida Panthers.

The key here is that Lyon is unlikely to see any NHL ice-time given he is third-choice to Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky. With a cap hit of just $750,000 he represents a fantastic value option.

What’s more he plays a game that would suit the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a focus on technique and position rather than scrambling for the puck. Certainly, such an approach takes some pressure off of team defense.

In all likelihood, the Panthers wouldn’t allow this deal to happen because it strengthens a rival, but stranger things have happened.

Joonas Korpisalo (Columbus Blue Jackets)

On a one-year deal paying just $1.3 million, Korpisalo is probably the most likely of the outside bets.

His first game for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season saw the Colorado Avalanche put five past him in his native Finland, but that’s not to say he couldn’t rebound with a change of scenery.

The primary concern with Korpisalo is that his first season in the NHL has proven to be a bit of an outlier. In the years since, he hasn’t ever gotten near his 0.920 save percentage from that 2015-16 season.

Of course, this might make an approach for him slightly cheaper, but it’s a bit of an ‘approach with caution’ situation, somewhat akin to acquiring David Rittich a couple of years back.

Certainly, it won’t be the first time that Joonas Korpisalo’s name pops up in the same sentence as the Toronto Maple Leafs with a low cap hit, maybe he is worth betting on.

The big appeal is his size and lateral movement, again not the sort of goalie to unnecessarily scramble for the puck, which would be a good fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Trade cost probably comes into the equation too, as he has just recovered from hip surgery and might very well still be regarded as an option moving forward in Columbus.

Elvis Merzlikins definitely has a spot in the tandem locked down, but Daniil Tarasov might be someone they want to give a longer look, especially as they don’t appear likely to be that competitive this season.

A lot of the decision-making here comes down to the asking price. If the Blue Jackets are keen to do business at a price that represents value, when you consider he could be lost for free on waivers, absolutely the Leafs should pull the trigger.

Aaron Dell (San Jose Sharks)

Looking at the goaltending depth chart in San Jose once more, Aaron Dell is currently plying his trade with the San Jose Barracuda despite having more than 100 NHL games to his name.

He could rightly be termed somewhat of a journeyman at this point, having seen the ice for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.

In recent years, he has failed to impress in the NHL with his goals-against-average above 3 goals in each of his past four NHL campaigns.

Factor in also that he’s sitting on 3.34 goals-against-average and 0.898 save percentage in four AHL games this year and maybe he’s no better of an option than Erik Kallgren or Keith Petruzzelli, except for having more big-league experience.

Or perhaps, there’s more than meets the eye and he’s been a goalie that has performed average on poor teams that offered limited defensive resilience and as such his statistics aren’t as bad as they look.

In his best NHL campaign back in the 2016-17 season, he played 20 games for the San Jose Sharks with a 2.00 goals-against-average and 0.931 save percentage albeit behind the league’s fifth-best defense.

Given his cap hit is just $775,000 the Toronto Maple Leafs might certainly do worse and if they were smart, they’d negotiate an option to loan him back if need be.

That approach would be a smart bet in terms of continuing to develop Kallgren, Petruzzelli and eventually Woll with the Marlies moving forward.

Of course, that also factors him clearing waivers; there’s every chance he’d be picked up solely on the basis of being NHL-ready goaltending.

However, that one break-out campaign as backup to Martin Jones highlights that he was able to get the job done when his defense was firing on all cylinders; there’s worse choices the Leafs could make.

Anthony Stolarz (Anaheim Ducks)

The third option and maybe the most likely of the bunch is the Anaheim Ducks’ Anthony Stolarz, who has only recently found his groove as an NHL option.

Taken in the second round (45th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers back in 2012, last year he saw the ice 28 times (23 starts) for the Ducks.

Considering they weren’t a very competitive outfit, his statistics are quite remarkable with the big-bodied New Jersey native putting up a save percentage of 0.917 and goals-against-average of 2.67 for the 2021-22 Ducks (per Elite Prospects).

It’s worth noting that they finished 23rd in the league last year with the 10th-worst goals against, conceding 271 goals.

The combination of his size in net with his 6’6″ frame, his proven ability last season and the fact he’s still only 28 years old suggest that the Ducks would be hoping to cash-in.

Stolarz would likely come with a decent price-tag just based on these facts alone, but add in a contract that pays just $950,000 this season and you can see how it might bump that price higher.

Behind the right team, you have to imagine that Anthony Stolarz could certainly make a living as an NHL backup, hence why he might be a hard move to make for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They are unlikely to offer up, in all likelihood Matt Murray’s backup spot, given the cap hit of their summer signing and the league in turn is unlikely to turn a blind eye if the Leafs attempted to sneak Stolarz through waivers.

Perhaps if Matt Murray finds himself reinjured or the injury concern Ilya Samsonov is dealing with turns out to be major and necessitate a decent period of time off on injured reserve, it might be time to make a deal.

In the meantime, Anthony Stolarz may represent the best option on the market but one that is just out of reach for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The going is tough right now with fourth and fifth-choice goalies in the line-up, but is adding another goalie to the mix going to solve anything long-term for the Leafs or will it just compound their asset management problems?