It’s a safe enough bet that, when the season opens Oct. 12, the Leafs will employ a goalie tandem. It’s an open question whether or not, nearly 10 years after Burke left the building, they’ll have a goalie problem, writes dfeschuk.
It’ll be 10 years ago in January that Brian Burke, then the chief hockey decision maker for the, was told the franchise no longer required his services, not to mention his surliness.
Nearly a decade on, it’s possible that the professional fate of another Leafs general manager, in this case current titleholder Kyle Dubas, could largely hinge on his regime’s success, or lack thereof, of patching the same hole. Not that the Shanaplan Leafs, eight seasons into the rebuild, have been quite as abysmal in the crease as Burke’s.
Still, the Mrázek dump cleared the requisite space to give the Leafs options, Campbell among them. Now comes the moment to choose the right one, or maybe even two, with Toronto seeming out of palatable rationalizations in the wake of a sixth annual first-round elimination. That only thins out the choices for teams like Toronto, Edmonton, Buffalo and Washington, all of which require help in net.
Possible trade targets include Ottawa goaltender Matt Murray, a Stanley Cup champion in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 who has been plagued by struggles in recent years, and Minnesota’s Cam Talbot, who is potentially the odd man out with the Wild, who re-signed Marc-André Fleury to a two-year deal worth $7 million this week. There have been suggestions that John Gibson could be available in Anaheim. But the three-time all-star surely wouldn’t be pried away cheaply.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Maple Leafs GM set to work on top-to-bottom changes
Read more »
What you need to know about the Maple Leafs’ 2022 NHL Draft Class“(When) we look back five, 10 years from now, we want to say we unequivocally took the best player available — regardless of whether they made NHL at 23, 24, 27.” Following the 2022 NHLDraft, lukefoxjukebox takes a look at the newest Leafs prospects.
Read more »
SNAPSHOTS: Leafs, Oilers and more have eyes on MurrayNot only are the Toronto Maple Leafs involved in talks with the Senators about Murray, it’s believed the Edmonton Oilers may be studying the option along with the Arizona Coyotes and a couple of other teams.
Read more »
SNAPSHOTS: Leafs, Oilers and more have eyes on MurrayMONTREAL — Matt Murray remained with the Ottawa Senators as the NHL draft came to an end Friday afternoon at the Bell Centre. But he may not be with the…
Read more »
Where Maple Leafs stand with tricky RFAs Ondrej Kase, Pierre EngvallMonday marks the deadline to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have a tricky call to make with Ondrej Kase.
Read more »