Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Best Trade Options to Find a New Goalie
By Luke Ryan
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.