Leafs Trade Petr Mrazek
Photo From NHL
I was going to wait untill after the NHL Draft
ended to work on an article covering what the Leafs did at this weekends draft
in Montreal, but this could not wait. With Leaf fans expecting Toronto to draft
a player with the 25th pick Kyle Dubas decided to trade it in a
package that included injured backup goalie Petr Mrazek. Dubas paired Mrazek
with Toronto’s first round pick tonight and moved them to Chicago for their 38th
pick in this draft which would mean Toronto’s pick to the sixth pick of round two.
Petr Mrazek was brought in to compliment
Jack Campbell in goal and Mrazek carried a 3.8-million-dollar price tag with
him. It is a complete understatement to say that this experiment by Kyle Dubas did
not work. Mrazek made his debut with the Leafs in the second game of the season
in Ottawa and got hurt. After battling multiple injuries throughout last season
Mrazek managed to appear in twenty games for Toronto posting a record of 12-6
which honestly surprised me to see that because I do not remember him winning
games for the Leafs but thanks to sites like Elite Prospects, I learned something
tonight. If anyone has followed this blog you would see that I had lost all
confidence in him and I had no problem with voicing my frustration and a
perfect example of that would have been talking about the Leafs losing to Buffalo
in the outdoor game at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton because that night Petr
Mrazek forgot that his job was to stop the puck. There were many times throughout
the season where you even saw the Leaf players show their frustration each time
Mrazek would give up a goal.
Now, Dubas received a lot of criticism for
the Mrazek signing and rightfully so, but we all know that not every move a
General Manager makes is going to work but with Kyle Dubas he manages to move a
player who did not work out for an asset. I remind you of the Nick Ritchie
trade that brought Lyubushkin to Toronto and tonight’s Mrazek trade is no
different. Not only did the trade bring Toronto the 38th pick in
this draft but it frees up more cap space for Dubas and the Leafs because they
now have 10.4 million dollars as they head into day two of the draft but also
prepare for Free Agency next week.
Now, I know what most fans are thinking
because I saw plenty of fans talking online after this trade was announced and it
is the obvious question. “Who’s going to play goal for Toronto?” well, there
are some options. The Leafs this afternoon was once again mentioned to have “kicked
tires” on trading for Ottawa’s goalie Matt Murray. I personally hope this does
not happen and I have nothing against Matt Murray as a person of course but as
a goalie I really hope Kyle Dubas does not bring Murray in as the team’s number
one goalie because the two-time cup winning goalie that won with Pittsburgh has
been no where to be found in Ottawa. With the Penguins from the 16-17 season
untill his final season in Pittsburgh the 19-20 season, Murray collected 108
wins but as a member of the Sens Murray has appeared in forty-seven games
winning only fifteen of them. So, Ottawa is trying to move him and this morning
he blocked a trade to Buffalo which for some reason led all the hockey experts
to speculate that Matt Murray and Toronto was highly possible. I understand why
this trade is a possibility and its because Matt Murray played for Kyle Dubas
and Sheldon Keefe in the OHL as the Soo Greyhounds goalie. In four seasons in
the OHL Murray won a total of seventy-nine games and winning a Bronze Medal for
Canada at the U18 Championships during his Junior career. As I said I hope Murray
is not the choice because his play is not there, and he has battled injuries
like Mrazek. Murray has a price tag of 6.25 million dollars which the Leafs cannot
take the full amount onto their books but even if Ottawa retains 50% of his
contract that would still cost the Leafs 3.125 million dollars which yes is
less then what Mrazek was getting but Dubas needs to realize the seat of his
office chair is beginning to heat up and if he is trying to build a Leaf team
that makes the playoffs with the hopes of winning a round or more than its obvious
that Matt Murray is not the answer at all for the Leafs in my opinion.
Another option in goal for the Maple Leafs
according to David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period is apparently Darcy Kuemper.
He will be hitting the free agent market next week because on the morning of
the draft Colorado traded a bundle of draft picks to the Rangers for Alexandar
Georgiev leaving Kuemper available to the market. Kuemper has been a regular starter
in the league since the 13-14 season with the Wild, but he bounced around with
stops in Los Angeles, the Phoenix Coyotes, and finally landing in Colorado in a
trade which worked out well for him because he won thirty-seven games this season
capping it off with a Stanley Cup. This season Kuemper was getting paid 4.5
million dollars and he needs a new contract and there have been some reports
that he is looking for six million plus in a new contract. Pagnotta tweeted saying
that he expects Dubas to push hard to sign Kuemper but of course time will tell.
For now, let us say Toronto signs Darcy to a six-million-dollar deal, which
leaves them with around 4.4 million dollars with decisions to be made on some
RFA’s but there has been plenty of talk that Justin Holl could be moved out too
free up space. Moving Justin Holl would free up two million dollars leaving Toronto
approximately six and a half million to bolster their defence and bottom six
forward group so mathematically a deal could be possible.
A third option for Toronto could be Finnish goalie Ville Husso of the St Louis
Blues who is an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old has been with the
Blues for two season and fifty-seven appearances Husso won thirty-four games. Husso,
as the backup goalie behind Jordan Binnington was getting paid league minimum and
obviously his new contract will come with a pay raise, but I cannot see it
being too much meaning Toronto could sign him to a contract at a valuable price
leaving Toronto some breathing room. Kyle Dubas in a short press conference stated
that he expects Erik Kallgren and Joseph Woll to battle for the backup spot in
goal and if Husso if the target the Leafs will have space left over if there is
a need to address any needs for the team.
Lastly, there is always the possibility
that Toronto circles back to Jack Campbell and could potentially work out a
deal. There have been reports that Campbell will be receiving an offer worth
5.5 million dollars a year from the Edmonton Oilers who are also in need of a
new goalie as Mike Smith is believed to be retiring. Trust me when I say I am a
massive fan of Jack Campbell but if the Leafs decide to try and match the
rumored Edmonton offer or better it, I think that could be a huge mistake. If
you look at Jack’s play last season the month of November was his best month
going 9-2 posting a .959 save percentage. We all knew that performance would not
continue but the problem is that the other months saw Campbell struggle and his
save percentage went as low as .845 and it only got as high as .918. Toronto knowing,
they like many teams have cap issues offered Campbell a multi year deal paying
him 2.75 million dollars a season. For me this was a fair offer for a “prove me”
contract. For me Jack Campbell needs to prove to the team and management that his
game is strong enough and that he is durable enough to be a starting goalie in
this league who is fully capable to play in seventy plus games a season. Jack
Campbell is loved by his teammates and this fanbase because when in goal he
usually does all he can to help the team win but at the same time if he is also
battling injuries locking him up to a high price could leave the team
handcuffed if they were in a situation where they had no choice but to look for
a new goalie.
Being a General Manager in the National
Hockey League is a difficult job and I am glad that I am not in Kyle Dubas’s
shoes I am glad that I can just sit here and give my thoughts and opinions on
what happens with the Leafs.
That is all for this write up so thanks as
always for reading rounds two through seven of the draft begin Friday morning
and if anything, note worthy happens like more trades involving Toronto or if
they do in fact select a prospect with the 38th pick of course I
will write about it. For any Leaf picks made in the later rounds I will just post
it on my twitter so for all updates involving our Leafs follow me on Twitter
@BFTBBlogger
Thanks as always for reading
I agree. I think Jack is being greedy and especially after Toronto gave him a huge opportunity for Jack to regain his mojo and be a starter
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