Goalie Trades the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Consider
By Mike Jack
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#2 Alex Lyon - Value Goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex Lyon seems to be moving up the goalie ranks. He had a great season with the Florida Panthers last year filling in for Spencer Knight, and he's been excellent with the Detroit Red Wings this season.
He's on great $900k contract that continues through next season. Detroit may have a tough time choosing who to keep when Ville Husso returns to the line-up. The odd man out may be veteran James Riemer.
If Detroit decides to go with a tandem of Husso and Reimer though, Lyon should be a cheap pick-up in a trade or as a waiver claim.
#1 Chris Driedger - Potential Star for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Things haven't been going Chris Driedger's way in Seattle. I remember there was a lot of excitement around him when he was selected in the expansion draft.
He was coming off a couple impressive years with the Florida Panthers and it looked like he was going to get his chance to be a starter until the Seattle Kraken signed Philipp Grubauer as a free agent.
Driedger had a rough year stats-wise during the Kraken's inaugural season, but so did all of Seattle's goaltender's. He then suffered a bad knee injury which kept him out of NHL action all of the last season.
He's only played one NHL game so far this season (and was excellent), but he has great numbers this season and last in the AHL. Driedger could return to starter quality, but he may need a fresh start to prove he's back to form.
When Grubauer returns from injury, Driedger is likely to go back on waivers as the Kraken seem to favour Joey Daccord as back-up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Top 10 Prospects. The Toronto Maple Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark. Next
One issue may be Drieger's $3.5 million dollar cap hit. If the Leafs were to swing a deal, Seattle may be willing to retain up to 50% of Driedger's salary. Driedger is a UFA at the end of the season, and Seattle would likely prefer to pay $1.75 million than $3.5 million for a non-roster player.