The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t plan on claiming a waiver goalie this season. The plan was to roll with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz in a rock-solid tandem.
Well, life has a way of throwing monkey wrenches. So, the Leafs rolled with the punches and found a cost-effective solution by claiming Cayden Primeau off waivers. The Carolina Hurricanes had signed Primeau as insurance, but decided to part ways with him at the end of training camp.
Claiming Primeau was a roll of the dice. The Maple Leafs were either going to get a serviceable backup goaltender or a makeshift solution until Woll returned.
Unfortunately, it turns out that Primeau was the latter. In three games this season, Primeau has won two, but has posted a 4.30 GAA and an .838 SV%.
His first two starts were meh. Primeau surrendered four goals against the Nashville Predators and then three against the Buffalo Sabres. Those performances were good enough to get by. But it was Wednesday night’s disaster in Columbus that essentially sentenced Primeau to the Maple Leafs' goalie scrapyard.
Unless Primeau can pitch a shutout in his next outing, there’s little room to doubt that Primeau will hit waivers when Joseph Woll returns. The likelihood is that he’ll clear and report to the Marlies. At that point, Primeau would be the backup to Dennis Hildeby with the Marlies.
But then again, the Marlies already have three goalies on their roster. So, the question would be: Is there room for Cayden Primeau in the Maple Leafs organization?
What do Maple Leafs do with Primeau moving forward?
The most evident answer is to keep Primeau in the AHL. Once Primeau clears waivers, he could come back up and down depending on the specific needs the Leafs have. For instance, Stolarz may need a day off here or there. So, the Maple Leafs could dress Woll with Primeau backing him up.
Similarly, Woll may need a break at some point. So, having Primeau in their back pocket allows the Leafs some flexibility. But that could be somewhat of a stretch. The Leafs could just call up Hildeby to get some spot starts if need be.
Meanwhile, Primeau remains with the Marlies, getting the lion’s share of the starts.
The fact is that Primeau really doesn’t have a spot in the Maple Leafs organization. He could be a serviceable depth piece. But Primeau doesn’t figure to cut above the fourth-stringer. Still, injuries could always factor in at the NHL and AHL levels.
So, there may be one more shot for Primeau in Toronto. But it could be that Cayden Primeau’s next stop is the Leafs’ goalie scrapyard.