5 Observations on the Toronto Maple Leafs Six Game Winning Streak
By James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs Still Need a Goalie
Yeah, Ilya Samsonov has been playing pretty good lately.
But he was also so bad earlier in the season that he was placed on waivers and not a single other team wanted anything to do with him.
The fishbowl of playing in Toronto, combined with the non-stop effort it takes to maintain your abilities as a world-class athlete no doubt makes Samsonov's comeback an amazing story of perseverance and dedication.
But this is the NHL and not a Disney Movie.
As great a story as it is, Samsonov should be nowhere near the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff roster.
He isn't reliable. Like any goalie, he is capable of going on a hot streak at any given time, but for the playoffs this year, in a year where it is perhaps the best Auston Matthews will ever play, and in one of his limited prime seasons, the Leafs have to go for it.
And going for it means icing the best possible team. Yes, any goalie can win you the cup. Still, you have a better chance if you have one of the few consistantly reliable ones.
The Leafs have sad idly by as Sergei Bobrovsky, Carey Price, (improbable) Elvis Merzlinkens, and Andrei Vasilevskiy have proved to be unbeatable. Those goalies got into the Leafs player's heads and had a phsychological impact on the playoff series.
Three of those guys show why you should do everything you can to have an elite goalie. The fourth shows that all hope is not lost if you have to bank on Samsonov, but just because sometimes a random goalie gets hot doesn't mean you should bet on it.
I'm not saying it's probable or even in the realm of possibilty to land a franchise-level goalie, but the Toront Maple Leafs at least need to try. Joseph Woll isn't reliable and neither is Martin Jones or Ilya Samsonov.
The Leafs have never paired Auston Matthews with an elite goalie. Why not try? Especially when so many unsung players are filling holes in the lineup that would have prevented it earlier.
Both Juuse Saros and John Gibson might be available. Both are younger and better than you might think. Either one would put the Leafs onto another level.