The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking very smart after the Washington Capitals just signed goaltender Logan Thompson to a six-year extension worth $5.85M AAV.
Thompson is having a breakout season and is on his way to being a Vezina Trophy nominee as he's currently posting a 22-2-3 record, 0.925 SV% and 2.09 GAA. After only trading a third-round pick for his services in the offseason, the Capitals have gotten away with highway robbery for that acquisition.
Prior to joining the Capitals, Thompson was a steady goaltender in Vegas. He played the majority of games last year, but he was always going to be behind Adin Hill, who was their starting goalie when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
As a pending UFA in 2025, Vegas decided to move on from Thompson in exchange for Ilya Samsonov and it's worked out. The Golden Knights are still one of the best teams in the NHL and Hill has been above-average. Neither goaltender has been as solid as Thompson, but it shouldn't be their downfall as they look to win another Stanley Cup this year.
But let's bring it back to the Leafs. As mentioned off the top, GM Brad Treliving is actually looking very smart after the Capitals signed Thompson because it shows what could have happened with contract negotiations for Joseph Woll.
Would You Rather Have Woll for 3 Years or Thompson For 6 Years?
After Anthony Stolarz was injured, Woll has been relied upon as the team's starting goalie for the past two months and has played well. In 26 starts, he has a 17-9-0 record, 2.67 GAA and .907 SV %. Sure, these numbers aren't as good as Thompson's, but the team was able to lock him up to a team-friendly, three-year deal worth $3.66M AAV prior to the start of the season.
Would you rather have three more years of Thompson at $2M more AAV or would you rather have Woll's deal? Personally, I think a three-year deal is perfect for Woll and that AAV is unreal based on what we've seen. If Woll continues to show that he's a number-one goalie, there's a legitimate chance that he's asking a contract similar to Thompson's at the end of the year.
Over the past few years, we've seen goalie's sign big deal's that have bitten team's in the behind very quickly after they've signed. I'm kind of afraid that will happen with Thompson and I think the same thing could have happened with Woll. Jack Campbell and Tristan Jarry are two example's of team's who signed for five years and their contract immediately looked like they were among the worst in the NHL.
There are really only around five goalies in the NHL that you can rely on every single year to be consistent and live up to their contract, so it's a huge risk to sign someone with little experience to a monster contract.
By locking up Woll to a shorter deal and at less AAV, the Leafs are actually in a better position for the future because if Woll doesn't live up to his number, they can walk away from the contract easier, and then if he does out-perform it, they'll have no issue giving him a bigger contract in three years.