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 25^th 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 38^th 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 38^th 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 38^th 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