Desite some very silly rumours, the Toronto Maple Leafs cannot possibly hope to find a goalie in free-agency.
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t bringing back Ilya Samsonov, and ironically, he’s probably the best Unrestricted Free-Agent goalie available.
While the Leafs could turn to Laurent Brossoit, he is realistically just a back-up option if they can’t find a trade they like.
Joseph Woll is too injury prone and we are in the middle of Auston Matthew’s prime. The Leafs simply cannot go with anything less than a franchise goalie. If they can’t pull that off, Brossoit is a cheap option to pair with Woll, but that isn’t an ideal situaiton.
The Leafs clearly and unambiguously are going to try to trade for a goalie.
They pretty much have to do it this week because you can’t go into the draft and then free-agency – i.e the rest of the summer – until the most important issue is solved.
Draft Is This Week So Expect the Toronto Maple Leafs to Trade for a Goalie
The Leafs have a ready-made package to try and acquire a goalie: their upcoming 23rd overall pick, and their second-round pick from two years ago, Fraser Minten.
Minten is a solid prospect who will for sure make the NHL, but he’s unlikely to be a star and therefore may currently be at the peak of his value.
This package could at the very least be a foundation for a trade involving a goalie, and whether the Leafs have to add to that will depend on the goalie.
The most obvious target is Jusse Saros, he has one more year of a cheap cap hit before he’ll need a new contract. He may be available.
John Gibson is another option. He hasn’t been good lately, but he’s only 30 and could be the type of low-cost high-reward bet that pays off.
A third option is Linus Ullmark. He has had two great seasons in a row as part of a tandem and with Boston looking to re-sign Jeremy Swayman (RFA) Ullmark may be traded.
A fourth option is Jacob Markstrom, but he’s too old.
A fifth option is Jordan Binnington. He was one of the top goalies in the NHL for several years after he won the Stanley Cup but then, two years ago, he fell off. After two bad years, Binnington had a bit of a comeback this past season but is a pretty big question mark.
Gibson, Binnington and Ullmark are all the same age. If I had to pick one, I’d bet on Gibson as he seems to be the most talented goalie who has never been lucky enough to play on a good team. Of the three, he’d be the cheapest to trade for as he doesn’t have a Stanley Cup and wasn’t a part of the best goaltending duo of the last two seasons.
I wouldn’t consider Markstrom because of his age, contract and acquisition cost.
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