If it's not Jack Campbell who should be the Leafs new #1 goalie?

[Nylander88]

I know people are hard on Gibson because of his most recent years of play, but if you actually watch him, he's still a very good goalie at the age of 28. All the tools are still there, but it looks like the life has been sucked out of him by being the workhorse goalie on a bottom feeder. Reminds me of Ryan O'Reilly in Buffalo....how it wore on him that the team was just ok with losing and it kind of made him lose his passion for the game. Then he went and won a cup in St. Louis and it was night and day different for him. I think with Gibson, it's something similar. I'd be willing to bet if you get him to Toronto, he's much closer to a top 5 goalie in the league, than he is to the stat lines he's posted in 3 seasons.

 

[justashadowof]

You just love moral victories.

I suppose we should hand out participation trophies too.

What we've got to wrap our tiny brains around is that the difference between the Leafs winning that first round series and making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final was no more than the value of a 7th round pick.

 

[123offtheglass]

I know people are hard on Gibson because of his most recent years of play, but if you actually watch him, he's still a very good goalie at the age of 28. All the tools are still there, but it looks like the life has been sucked out of him by being the workhorse goalie on a bottom feeder. Reminds me of Ryan O'Reilly in Buffalo....how it wore on him that the team was just ok with losing and it kind of made him lose his passion for the game. Then he went and won a cup in St. Louis and it was night and day different for him. I think with Gibson, it's something similar. I'd be willing to bet if you get him to Toronto, he's much closer to a top 5 goalie in the league, than he is to the stat lines he's posted in 3 seasons.

Good comparison. The talent is still there, I'm just warry of the cost to acquire him; it's gotta be fair given his past 3 years of performance relative to his cap hit of 6.4m.

Ducks could look at the Leafs and use desperation as leverage with other options becoming slimmer, they certainly have time on their side to deal him if they want to hold off on a deal.

 

[123offtheglass]

Dubas said he likes there internal and trade options. Sounds like we will be trading for a starter and woll/kallgren backup.
Makes me lean away from thoughts of a UFA goalie and more towards Gibson type move.

I think he's going for the best #1 he can get. Sounded like a vote of confidence in Woll/Kallgren but I'd be surprised if he doesn't pickup a remaining backup later in the offseason for cheap.

 

[makbeer]

Just curious What are your thoughts on

Comrie and hill.

Either of them worth a shot ?

I have been a hill fan for some time. Comrie I am not as big on. Hill will always have his size which makes him an intriguing prospect. Plus he now has 4 straight seasons over .900.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Dubas said he likes there internal and trade options. Sounds like we will be trading for a starter and woll/kallgren backup.
Makes me lean away from thoughts of a UFA goalie and more towards Gibson type move.

Not sure if what he says should be taken at face value. Maybe it's misdirection and we'll get Kuemper instead?

 

[hockeywiz542]

How will the Maple Leafs solve their goaltending puzzle?

The decisions around next season's goaltending won’t get much harder than this for Kyle Dubas and the Leafs.

theathletic.com

I’d argue there’s less risk going the trade route.

Send an asset out for Cam Talbot or Jonathan Quick or James Reimer, all of whom are heading into the last year of their contracts, and if it doesn’t work out the Leafs could still pivot. They wouldn’t be boxed into a corner.

Commit to Campbell or Kuemper on a pricey, long-term contract and if things go quickly awry the Leafs would be stuck.

If they aren’t sold on the short-term (hopeful) trade fixes, or Campbell or Kuemper, the Leafs could make a play for a high roller like John Gibson – if they believed his ability/upside was higher and thus worth the risks. Gibson’s got a huge contract himself, hasn’t performed great in recent years, and would require a haul of juicy assets for the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks.

So, a no-go in all likelihood on that front.

The short-term trade types don’t feel like terrible options, especially when weighed against the splashy, long-term commitments the free agents will require. (It’s too bad for the Leafs that Semyon Varlamov seems to be unavailable. He would be the ultimate Band-Aid solution.)

Reimer actually outplayed Campbell last season (in the goals saved above-expected department) in almost the same number of games, and his cap hit for next season is tiny ($2.25 million) compared to what Campbell will fetch. Save coin there and the Leafs have more to spend elsewhere (2C?). San Jose has reason to wheel and deal: They’ve got three goalies and a new GM in Mike Grier who may look to turn some things over and rebuild.

Quick, too, performed quite well for the Kings last season. He is also 36 and probably tops out at 50 starts. But he’s all the big-game experience you could ask for. Would Kings GM Rob Blake even want him to move him given the franchise’s upward trajectory, not to mention Quick’s stature within the organization?

Quick’s cap hit next season is also $5.8 million. Would the Kings retain half of that if they were willing to deal Quick? Would the acquisition cost, a little higher for the retention, be worthwhile when the Leafs can trade for others like Talbot and Reimer (no retention) or simply sign Campbell or Kuemper in free agency – albeit with the long-term risks? Maybe.

Talbot is another one-year option, though less appealing than Reimer or Quick. He’s 35 and something of a journeyman, and it has to mean something that the Wild went out and acquired Fleury in the first place at last year’s deadline.

Maybe this: Talbot gave up 17 goals more than expected last season.

Dealing for Ottawa’s Matt Murray, even at half-price (he’s got two years left on his deal with a $6.25 million cap hit), would be an even bigger gamble, with the risk/cost far outweighing the upside. (Let the Senators buy him out and it’s a different story.)

The lowest risk route would have the Leafs trade for Reimer, sign a veteran like Jaroslav Halak in free agency, and see how that works. If it’s a disaster, they can deal for another goalie from a team that’s out of the playoff mix. (An often forgotten reality from last season: The Leafs had some of the worst goaltending in the league for half a season and still finished with 115 points. Even if the goaltending is bad, they’re still getting by in the regular season.)

Jake Allen will be on the last year of his deal with Montreal ($2.8 million cap hit). So will Red Wings No. 2 Alex Nedeljkovic. If the Islanders flame out next season, Varlamov is bound to be available ($5 million cap hit) too.

..................

If I’m ranking the paths to a puzzle that might not have all the pieces:

1. Trade for Reimer (or someone similar with similar upside and risk)

2. Pay Kuemper

3. Pay Campbell

None are obvious. None are easy. And none may be all that reassuring. The decisions won’t get much harder than this for Dubas and the Leafs.

 

[DarkKnight]

People saying “don’t worry Dubas has a plan” I mean come on, it’s July 10th and we have no goalies, who “plans” that? We’re scrambling, don’t kid yourself, something will happen but it’s hardly some genius being orchestrated now.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I know people are hard on Gibson because of his most recent years of play, but if you actually watch him, he's still a very good goalie at the age of 28. All the tools are still there, but it looks like the life has been sucked out of him by being the workhorse goalie on a bottom feeder. Reminds me of Ryan O'Reilly in Buffalo....how it wore on him that the team was just ok with losing and it kind of made him lose his passion for the game. Then he went and won a cup in St. Louis and it was night and day different for him. I think with Gibson, it's something similar. I'd be willing to bet if you get him to Toronto, he's much closer to a top 5 goalie in the league, than he is to the stat lines he's posted in 3 seasons.

Pretty much how I feel.

Gibson was amazing the first half of the season when the Ducks were in it. He can clearly still do it, but morale cannot have been very high the last few years. He started his career on a good team and proved himself & earned a contract as one of their best players before the Ducks became bad. It's kind of like Price who suddenly had 90% seasons when the Habs dipped, but clearly he was still capable when they made the finals. Except Gibson is younger and while he's had nagging injuries, nothing career-threatening.

 

[Buds17]

Not sure if what he says should be taken at face value. Maybe it's misdirection and we'll get Kuemper instead?

I agree about not taking that quote too seriously and believe Dubas will at the very least kick tires on Kuemper. There's a certain amount of cap space available and I can't imagine Dubas wanting to spend too much of it on a secondary option in goal. The comment was also a rather curious one to make just prior to the Free Agent Frenzy!

 

[justashadowof]

People saying “don’t worry Dubas has a plan” I mean come on, it’s July 10th and we have no goalies, who “plans” that? We’re scrambling, don’t kid yourself, something will happen but it’s hardly some genius being orchestrated now.

His plan was that Mrazek would take over as the team's starter for the 2022-23 season. Not an unreasonable attempt at something but a complete fail. The goaltending situation seems more dire than it was last summer, we'll see very soon what the solution will be.

 

[Dayjobdave]

The Leafs goalie move is such a boom or bust play, it’s really hard to handicap.

Bring back Jack for 5 years and hope the contract gives him confidence?

Get a retained Murray and hope he plays back to his standard now that the games matter?

pay a ton of assets for Gibson and hope the same?

Coax a year out of Quick?

Im not sure which of these I like best. Probably Gibson has the highest chance of success.

 

[DarkKnight]

His plan was that Mrazek would take over as the team's starter for the 2022-23 season. Not an unreasonable attempt at something but a complete fail. The goaltending situation seems more dire than it was last summer, we'll see very soon what the solution will be.

See what happens, but we do look desperate right now and probably overpay to address.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[Sypher04]

His plan was that Mrazek would take over as the team's starter for the 2022-23 season. Not an unreasonable attempt at something but a complete fail. The goaltending situation seems more dire than it was last summer, we'll see very soon what the solution will be.

Kinda hard to claim his plan was Mrazek as the starter when he literally just traded him away with no other NHL goalies signed for next year. That tells you absolutely everything you need to know about the zero percent chance Mrazek was in the plans for next season. Dubas’ comments aside - as he certainly wasn’t going to say anything other than what he did while still negotiating a deal to get rid of him

Edit: just re-read and see now you must have meant last summer when he was signed. I still think that’s debatable however

 

[zeke]

People saying “don’t worry Dubas has a plan” I mean come on, it’s July 10th and we have no goalies, who “plans” that? We’re scrambling, don’t kid yourself, something will happen but it’s hardly some genius being orchestrated now.

Are you suggesting that no team ever enters UFA season needing to sign a goalie?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Are you suggesting that no team ever enters UFA season needing to sign a goalie?

2 goalies and 2 years left of AM

 

[saltming]

Not sure if what he says should be taken at face value. Maybe it's misdirection and we'll get Kuemper instead?

Could be I agree but for some reason I think it's not. The UFA market is not so deep and its looking expensive

 

[DarkKnight]

Are you suggesting that no team ever enters UFA season needing to sign a goalie?

 

[SprDaVE]

View attachment 566965

How do you think Calgary got Markstrom, Islanders got Varlamov or Florida got Bobrovski. Colorado traded for Kuemper after they lost Grubauer to Seattle (right around this time of the off-season period -- July 29th 2021).

 

[justashadowof]

Kinda hard to claim his plan was Mrazek as the starter when he literally just traded him away with no other NHL goalies signed for next year. That tells you absolutely everything you need to know about the zero percent chance Mrazek was in the plans for next season. Dubas’ comments aside - as he certainly wasn’t going to say anything other than what he did while still negotiating a deal to get rid of him

Edit: just re-read and see now you must have meant last summer when he was signed. I still think that’s debatable however

It's debatable that the intention was to utilize a player signed for $3.8M aav for 3 years as the team's starting goaltender at some point during that contract?

 

[DarkKnight]

How do you think Calgary got Markstrom, Islanders got Varlamov or Florida got Bobrovski. Colorado traded for Kuemper after they lost Grubauer to Seattle (right around this time of the off-season period -- July 29th 2021).

I mean that’s the obvious, my point is you’re probably over paying now at this late stage. Nobody is suggesting he isn’t addressing the position, he has too, again obviously.

 

[zeke]

View attachment 566965

Are you suggesting that no team ever enters UFA season needing to sign a goalie?

I mean that’s the obvious, my point is you’re probably over paying now at this late stage. Nobody is suggesting he isn’t addressing the position, he has too, again obviously.

Late stage = before free agency even opens

 

[SprDaVE]

I mean that’s the obvious, my point is you’re probably over paying now at this late stage. Nobody is suggesting he isn’t addressing the position, he has too, again obviously.

So there is a plan, the plan is always fluid because you can't predict the future, right?

There is plenty to criticize Dubas for but saying that he's just winging it isn't fair. It might not be what you want and what not but I'm sure they believe they have some plan they know will work out.

 

[notbias]

I mean that’s the obvious, my point is you’re probably over paying now at this late stage. Nobody is suggesting he isn’t addressing the position, he has too, again obviously.

You could also trade for someone who is getting progressively worse each year as your starter cause you rush things.

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