3 Goalie Options If the Toronto Maple Leafs Are Shopping for a Goalie
Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really shopping for a goaltender?
They should be. Depending on who you listen to, it sure sounds like they are. Are the Toronto Maple ready to move on from Ilya Samsonov? Are they comfortable with an injury prone rookie starter, or using their 3rd stringer so much?
One would have to think the Leafs are desperate for help in net.
Ilya Samsonov has appeared in 16 games this season. He has a 5-3-6 record with a 3.88 GAA and a .863 SV%.
Those stats are quite a step down from where he was last season. Samsonov finished last season with a 27-10-5 record through 42 appearances with a 2.33 GAA and .919 SV%. The Leafs were hoping for similar numbers from him this season, but his play has been disappointing, to say the least.
The Leafs can not possibly hope to compete with their current net situation, so let's take a look at what else is out there. (stats nhl.com).
Toronto Maple Leafs and Marc-Andre Fleury
According to Pierre LeBrun from TSN and The Athletic, the Leafs are one of the teams interested in acquiring Marc-Andre Fleury if he becomes available.
Adding Fleury would be purely a rental move for the Leafs,and they could easily accommodate Fleury's $3.5 million salary cap hit by trading Samsonov.
(Salary info from capfriendly.com)
Fleury is one of the NHL's oldest players and it's fair to ask how much he has left. This would be a risky move for the Leafs, unless it was just a Samsonov for Fleury swap, then at least it might be worth doing.
Fleury is obviously not the same as he was during his younger playing days, but the 40-year-old is a veteran with playoff experience and success.
Through 22 appearances this season, Fleury has an 8-9-3 record with a 2.97 GAA and a .897 SV%, which does not exactly inspire confidence.
With his first shutout of the season on January 15th, Fleury passed Patrick Roy to become the second-highest winning goaltender in NHL history with career 552 wins.
Having him on the Leafs to guide a young goaltender like Woll could be career-changing for Woll, so even if he's not the same player, there is still value to this idea.
We'll need to wait and see if Fleury is indeed the guy that Treliving wants to add between now and the trade deadline.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Jacob Markstrom
Many people in the hockey world believe the Calgary Flames will be making goaltender Jacob Markstrom available, which is pretty obvious given his bad contract situation.
He would be a pricey add for most teams looking to be in the NHL playoffs. The soon-to-be 34-year-old Swede has a $6 million salary cap hit for two more seasons after this one. That should eliminate the Leafs from being interested, but who knows?
Most interested teams would need the Flames to retain some of Markstrom's salary for a trade to work.
For the Leafs, the Flames would likely be asked to retain 50% of Markstrom's cap to make a deal work.
The Leafs would either need to trade Samsonov before talking with the Flames or make him part of the deal to get Markstrom. Depending on how well Woll or Jones play in the second half of the season, there is no guarantee that Markstrom will become the Leafs new number-one goaltender, which means the commitment for another two years wouldn't really make sense - you'd want a surefire #1 at for this price/commitment.
So far, Markstrom has a 13-11-2 record this season through 26 appearances, and he has a 2.59 GAA and a .912 SV% with two shutouts.
This is Markstrom's 14th season in the NHL, but he has only been to the playoffs twice. If the Flames are out of a playoff spot by the time we reach the NHL trade deadline, Markstrom could be made available, and the Leafs are thought to be one of the teams interested in him.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Elvis Merzlikins
Elvis Merzlikins has requested a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Since the Leafs have some goaltending issues, to say the least, it wouldn't be surprising if they showed interest in the goaltender from Denmark.
Merzlikins has three more years left on his current deal after this season with a $5.4 million salary cap hit. Depending on what the Leafs send back in a deal for Merzlikins, they might need the Blue Jackets to retain some salary.
Merzlikins has an 8-8-6 record through 24 games with a 3.22 GAA and a .906 SV%.
The 29-year-old is playing in his 5th NHL season and is looking to join a playoff-caliber team. I'm not sure how much interest the Leafs have in Merzlikins, but they have been linked to his teammate Boone Jenner, so maybe a much bigger deal could be made.
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One downside to acquiring Merzlikins is his lack of playoff experience. He's only played in two playoff games, and they were back in the 2020 NHL playoffs. So, if the Leafs find themselves relying on him to get them through the playoffs, it's a big unknown right now. However, if you're getting a player with three more years on his deal, you've got to allow him to prove himself at some point.