Frederik Andersen is going to be the Toronto Maple Leafs starting goalie for quite a while. Shocker, right?
But who is Freddy’s backup?
Let’s figure out what Toronto’s backup goalie situation looks like heading into this summer.
WHO DO THE LEAFS HAVE?
The Leafs only have two goalies under contract heading into next season: Andersen and Kasimir Kaskisuo. Curtis McElhinney is an unrestricted free agent while both Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau are restricted free agents. Let’s look at their age, cap hit, and save percentages.
CURTIS McELHINNEY
AGE: 33
2016-17 CAP HIT: $800,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .917 in 21 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .905 in 168 games
McElhinney was the Leafs’ waiver wire answer to “How do we replace Jhonas Enroth?” McElhinney had a .924 SV% in seven games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this season. That’s an awfully small sample size and most of McElhinney’s career suggests that was an outlier. Despite that, McElhinney put up a .914 SV% in 14 games, including, arguably, the Leafs’ save of the season on Sidney Crosby to secure a playoff birth.
If McElhinney is still around the $800,000 cap hit he was last year, he might be the backup again. Two big questions though: Can he play enough games so that Andersen doesn’t have to start 66 times again (second-most in NHL)? And is he the .914 goalie we saw last season or the .905 goalie he has been over his career?
GARRET SPARKS
AGE: 23
2016-17 CAP HIT: $575,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: No NHL games, .922 in 32 AHL games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .893 in 17 NHL games, .922 in 78 AHL
Is Sparks the goalie who played 17 NHL games as a banged-up rookie on the 30th-place team last season or the guy who has been one of the best goalies in the AHL over the past two seasons?
Can Sparks be a cheap NHL backup? His AHL numbers suggest he can do that if given the chance.
ANTOINE BIBEAU
AGE: 22 (he’ll be 23 on May 1)
2016-17 CAP HIT: $655,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .927 in two NHL games, .894 in 32 AHL games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .927 in two NHL games, .906 in 104 AHL games
Antoine Bibeau is a very young goalie who performed well in two NHL games for the Leafs this past season. That being said, he had a .913 SV% as an AHL rookie, .909 last year, and .894 this season. That’s a huge red flag.
KASIMIR KASKISUO
AGE: 23
2016-17 CAP HIT: $925,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: No NHL games, .934 in seven AHL games, .899 in 32 ECHL games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: No NHL games, .927 in nine AHL games, .899 in 32 ECHL games
Kaskisuo’s ECHL numbers this year weren’t good which is concerning but save percentages tend to be lower in the ECHL. Down the stretch and currently in the AHL playoffs, Kaskisuo has been good.
And now the fun part…
POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS
Right off the bat, let’s eliminate guys like Ben Bishop and Ryan Miller. They likely want to play more than a backup and will get decent enough paydays to make them too rich for the Leafs. Steve Mason might fall into this category, as well.
Who else is there?
SCOTT DARLING
AGE: 28
2016-17 CAP HIT: $600,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .924 in 32 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .923 in 75 games
Scott Darling has been an excellent, cheap option for the Chicago Blackhawks. Because of that, the “cheap” part is probably over. How much of a raise will he get and will the Leafs be willing to give it to him?
More important than Darling’s ability to be a backup is his ability to take over when the starter is injured for a while. Plenty of backup goalies know how to fill in but once their workload increases they crumble a bit. Darling won three playoff games in place of Corey Crawford in 2015.
BRIAN ELLIOTT
AGE: 32
2016-17 CAP HIT: $2.7 million
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .910 in 49 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .913 in 372 games
I heard Eric Francis on the Andrew Walker Show the other day say something along the lines of “Brian Elliott will be a good goalie in the NHL next season, it just can’t be in Calgary.” How about Toronto? Elliott had a bizarre season. Brutal start, excellent stretch run, terrible playoffs. How much will he make?
CHAD JOHNSON
AGE: 30
2016-17 CAP HIT: $1.7 million
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .910 in 36 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .915 in 137 games
Or there’s always the other younger and cheaper Calgary goalie who’s probably about as good.
JONATHAN BERNIER
AGE: 28
2016-17 CAP HIT: $4.15 million
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .915 in 39 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .915 in 252 games
First of all, there’s absolutely no way he’d come back here … right?
It’s interesting that Bernier’s numbers this year match his career average. He’s still a decent goalie who was probably a bit overpaid in Toronto. If you were him, would you come back? And for way less? No.
MIKE CONDON
AGE: 27
2016-17 CAP HIT: $575,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .914 in 41 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .908 in 96 games
Condon hasn’t had an easy career. He was supposed to replace Carey Price as a rookie and then had to keep the Senators afloat in the absence of Craig Anderson. He’ll be getting a well-deserved raise. How much?
PETER BUDAJ
AGE: 34
2016-17 CAP HIT: $600,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .915 in 60 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE:.905 in 357 games
Dude, Peter Budaj played 60 games this season. What year is this?
He was good for the Kings (.917 in 53 games) but once he got to Tampa (.898 in six games), not so much.
KEITH KINKAID
AGE: 27
2016-17 CAP HIT: $750,000
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .916 in 26 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .912 in 69 games
If you don’t know who this is, that’s because he’s Cory Schneider’s backup. When that’s your job, you get to wear a baseball cap a lot. His numbers are OK, he’s likely very cheap, and like McElhinney, and he’s a true backup. Kinkaid could be a good fit. If Andersen were to get hurt though, would you trust him with the reigns?
ANDERS NILSSON
AGE: 27
2016-17 CAP HIT: $1 million
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .926 in 26 games
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .908 in 78 games
If Nilsson is the goalie he was last season then he’s a great option. His .908 career save percentage is pretty bad, though. Part of that was playing for the McEichel Oilers in 2015-16.
BEN SCRIVENS
AGE: 30
2016-17 CAP HIT: Played in the KHL
2016-17 SAVE PERCENTAGE: .918 in 55 games (in the KHL)
CAREER SAVE PERCENTAGE: .905 in 144 NHL games
Maybe a bit of an off-the-board pick here but he has played for the Leafs before as a backup and temporary starter due to injury.
Scrivens had a .918 save percentage for Dinamo Minsk of the KHL this season, which wasn’t one of the better save percentages in the league. That being said, he led the KHL with 55 games played, all of which were in a 57-game span before getting a rest before the Gagarin Cup Playoffs. He also led the KHL in wins (28), and was second in KHL shutouts (8).
So there are lots of options for Toronto, some of which are in their organization right now. It also goes without saying that a trade could happen, as well.
There seems to be plenty of cheap goalies out there. If they work out – great! If they don’t, maybe you can swing a trade or get lucky with a waiver claim like the Leafs did this year.
What will the Leafs’ backup plan be?
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