Kyle Dubas May be Addicted to Signing Former Toronto Maple Leafs

You can take the man out of Toronto but you can’t take Toronto out of the man. That appears to be the case with former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas.

Dubas has done it again. The man has been collecting former Toronto Maple Leafs players like they’re Pokémon cards. Much like an eight year old child is addicted to building their collection, so too may Dubas have a very unique addiction.

Now, the president of hockey operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dubas can’t seem to scratch his Toronto Maple Leafs itch. This time, the possible addiction had him look to fill a crease in his organization. Dubas decided to stock his American Hockey League (AHL) farm team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, with a veteran goaltender. He signed stopper Garret Sparks on Tuesday.

According to Elite Prospects, Sparks was drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2011. He was a success story after being selected in the seventh round, 190th overall. Despite the long odds, Sparks made it to the NHL. His first season was 2015-16, where he played 17 games for the Leafs. He played 20 more in 2018-19.

Kyle Dubas May be Addicted to Signing Former Toronto Maple Leafs

While Sparks played a game for the Vegas Golden Knights the following year and two more for the Los Angeles Kings in 2021-22, he spent the majority of his playing career bouncing between the AHL and the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).

In 2017-18, Sparks reached the pinnacle of the AHL. That’s when he carried the load for his Toronto Marlies team and led them to a Calder Cup championship. He played 19 games in those playoffs, winning 14 of them and only losing five. This is a notable event because the general manager of the Marlies at the time was Dubas.

Now age 30, the goaltender from Elmhurst, IL will be doing his best to capture the second Calder Cup of his career with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

While the Penguins  AHL team hasn’t been finalized, the organization has three active NHL rostered goaltenders in Tristan Jarry, Casey DeSmith, and Alex Nedeljkovic. In addition to Sparks, they also have three non-roster goalies. They are Joel Blomqvist, Taylor Gauthier, and Magnus Hellberg.

With all those goaltenders in the organization, it’s unclear how many times Sparks will receive the assignment to take to the crease.

Last season, Sparks played 14 games for the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL where he had a record of 7-4-3, a goals-against average of 3.45, and a save percentage of .887. He also played three games for the Springfield Thunderbirds where he posted a 2.38 goals-against average and a .924 saver percentage.

While we can’t predict the future to know how well Sparks will do with his new club, Dubas himself has become predictable. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before another former Toronto Maple Leafs player is packing their hockey gear onto a flight to Pittsburgh.