The Toronto Maple Leafs Can Find Goaltending By Looking Further Afield
By Luke Ryan
The Toronto Maple Leafs need to do something about their goaltending if they want to remain in the conversation this season.
Another night, another chance to find his game and another 6 goals got past Ilya Samsonov, who might realistically have played his last game for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Now, it's not an easy fix all the time Joseph Woll emains injured, because it means riding the veteran Martin Jones and trusting Samsonov on the bench, neither of which is an acceptable option at this point.
Or it means that Brad Treliving is going to have to be bold and demote the goalie flagged as the starter this summer; the situation mirrors that of the Edmonton Oilers who have been brave enough to send Jack Campbell to the AHL.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Can Find Goaltending By Looking Further Afield
That decision though comes with its own risks, namely promoting Dennis Hildeby before he's ready, even if he does have European experience playing against men.
Or it means Keith Petruzelli, who is decent but honestly seems to have a ceiling of AHL goalie. It's take some sort of Jordan Bennington magic for this move to pay off.
And then there's the idea put out there by Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, whose hot takes I don't always agree with. That idea; a veteran Jaroslav Halak.
Honestly, it sounds like one of the smartest thoughts for the Toronto Maple Leafs - better to bring in someone with plenty of NHL experience than risk one of the guys from the farm. Assuming a league minimum contract, it wouldn't even impact the budget for trade deadline much!
Looking further afield, perhaps they couldn't go worse than approach Simon Hrubec of the Swiss National League leaders ZSC Lions. There's no guarantees when bringing international players across the Atlantic, but they could do far worse.
He has a great save percentage this year and has experience in Switzerland, Czechia and with the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL.
In fact, it's his performance with the latter that makes him stand out. A save percentage of 0.932 in the KHL on a team that is a perennial absent dweller isn't half bad.
It'd be bold, but surely at this point fortune favours the bold and it's in fact no bigger risk than putting Ilya Samsonov back in the net.
dark. Next. The Leafs Have an Emergency Situation on Their Hands. The Leafs Have an Emergency Situation on Their Hands
Maybe, just maybe, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to have a look towards Europe if Joseph Woll isn't looking to be back anytime soon. Even then, perhaps running with a three-headed monster is better than what they have now.