Recalled/Assigned: Hutchinson Back Up, Kaskisuo Sent Down

[Cor]

Hutch getting a new chance?

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[Fogelhund]

Yikes?

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Trade?
Hopefully.

 

[MapleLeafs9]

Keefe probably wants to see what Hutch can do when he isn't playing in front of a tired team that also didn't wanna play for their last coach.

Fair imo

 

[TheDoldrums]

We need a better option, somehow.

Now that Babcock is gone it's easily the most pressing concern.

 

[Nooodles]

Probably in for Friday, gets a chance behind a fresh team.

Wonder if Keefe has asked him to write down the 10 worst defensive player of the team....

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Don't call it a comeback

 

[Guy Boucher]

First screw up of the Keefe era.

 

[Walshy7]

if he looks good and the system change in the Dzone doesn't hang him out to dry then that will be another strike agains babs

 

[Sergei Berezin]

He wasn't particularly good on the Marlies. Maybe Keefe thinks KK should build up some confidence before starting in the NHL again. Pretty shitty situation for a rookie to be brought into this past week.

 

[Walshy7]

Trade?
Hopefully.

im sure a team would rather just trade for him while in the AHL, that way they get to decide when they bring him up. His recall means that team trading for him has to keep him in nhl

 

[Myopic]

Hopefully, he'll give Freddy the harder game on back-to-backs. Babcock set up the backup to fail. I'm not saying it'll work, but at least give the backup a fighting chance.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

im sure a team would rather just trade for him while in the AHL, that way they get to decide when they bring him up. His recall means that team trading for him has to keep him in nhl

What if he’s part of a trade for a backup. Like say gauthier and hutch for Jake Allen retained or something? Just wondering why the St. Louis GM was at two leafs games last week.

 

[Buds17]

Maybe I'm a bit surprised that Kaskisuo didn't get a game in under Keefe, but I guess Hutchinson is the more NHL experienced option out of the two!

Wins are going to eventually come from the backup spot. Just a matter of how many, and in how many starts.

 

[Rude Dog]

He has watched Kaskisuo first hand. Likely doesn't have faith in him either. I don't mind giving Hutch another chance before completely disregarding him.

 

[DarkKnight]

Houston we have a problem.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

im sure a team would rather just trade for him while in the AHL, that way they get to decide when they bring him up. His recall means that team trading for him has to keep him in nhl

I am pretty sure as long as he isn't up for 30 days he is still fine without waivers. I mean this does kill the clock a bit but who knows.

Seems pretty weird to me. Sure he did well in the AHL, but he stunk the bed in the NHL. Kaskisuo was given one game which was ultimately such a bad team effort that it led to Babcock getting fired (they waited until after Vegas for PR reasons). Hutch was given better opportunities to win in every one of his starts than that PIT-iful (pun totally intended) effort by the Leafs. So I feel bad for Kaskisuo.

IDK the motivation behind it. Maybe it's showcasing for a trade. Maybe it's giving Hutch a second chance. Maybe they want to have a guy who has played a game in the past two weeks (Kaskisuo hasn't played since PIT). All I know is that Hutch's leash should be exactly one game long until he proves he is even passable as a backup (which means a .SVV over .900, at least a .500 record and looking like he deserves to be a pro goaltender, and not just a body to throw in net against weak teams).

 

[SeaOfBlue]

He has watched Kaskisuo first hand. Likely doesn't have faith in him either. I don't mind giving Hutch another chance before completely disregarding him.

I seriously doubt that after his performance since like February.

 

[SprDaVE]

I mean... I guess...

 

[crump]

Needs to really hammer out a win somehow from the backup goaltender. Play him Friday night when the team is fresher, let Andersen lock it down the second night of the back to back on HNIC

 

[Kamiccolo]

I was hoping to never have to watch him again.

But Keefe's whole MO is that he will believe in you and give you a chance others wouldn't, and in exchange he wants you to play your heart out for him.

Maybe this is the way of giving everyone a fresh start. Call him up, tell him you know that the team played badly in front of him. Tell him you know he only got the back to back's before. Say you still believe he is the answer for the Leafs. Tell him you are going to give him the start on Wednesday.

Who knows? Maybe it is all confidence? Maybe he sucks in the AHL because his confidence is shot and not because he lacks the skills?

One thing is clear from watching Hutch, he can get in front of the puck on the first shot with reliability. Now, he can't control a rebound for his life, and has no 2nd effort, but he can make the initial save.

What a great test for the team to tighten up defensively and let him see the shot and get to the rebounds. Keep the shots from out of the slot and clean up the mess and suddenly you have a backup who can win you some games.

One thing I read is we need to ride Freddy.. I agree to an extent, but he also needs rest. If we can use the backup against bottom feeders like Detroit the rest of the way and B2B, we can get Freddy down to around 45-50 games instead of 60.

 

[ToneDog]

No surprise here. I believe Hutch will look better behind this team that defends better under Keefe.

 

[Joey Hoser]

There's no right answer here right now. Hutch has sucked, but Kaskisuo is absolutely an AHL goalie, and not even a great one.

Might as well try again, this time with some sensible usage that isn't just the second half of back to backs. If he can go from "terrible" to "ok... I guess", that still helps a lot.

 

[qqaz]

Hutch in the Marlies this season:

3-0-0 sv%.942 GAA 1.95

If there's was a way to play himself back into the lineup, that is it.

 

[Stephen]

The key to utilizing Hutchinson more effectively is to just play Andersen more instead of this pseudo load management nonsense on back to backs.