Leafs Waive Hutchinson, Call up Kaskisuo

Who?

Michael Hutchinson isn’t a very new name for Maple Leafs fans. Hutchinson was acquired last season in exchange for a 2020 5th round pick, as the Leafs needed a starting goalie urgently, with Frederik Andersen out with a groin injury. That move seemed to have paid off initially when soon after Garret Sparks suffered a concussion, which shoved “Hutch” in the spotlight. The hometown goalie delivered to the best of his abilities, putting up a 2-3-0 record with a .914 SV%, before being sent to the Marlies. After winning back the spot by playoff time, Hutchinson was expected to keep the backup role for most of the season…until he didn’t. He has gone 0-4-1 with a .879 SV%, which we’ll get to later.

Kaskisuo has quietly been a part of the Maple Leafs organization for a while now. Ever since signing with them out of college, he’s been an under-the-radar prospect in the organization. After bouncing in and out of the AHL/ECHL, including a season on loan with the Chicago Wolves, he finally got his shot. After the Maple Leafs lost Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard, Kaskisuo suddenly became the Marlies’ starting goalie… and it didn’t go as planned. The emergency tandem of Kaskisuo and Jeff Glass ended up doing very poorly, and he was later injured. Since then, he’s turned it around significantly. Kaskisuo had flashes of brilliance during the Calder Cup Playoffs. He has continued that stretch into the season, going 6-1-1 with a .928 SV% on the Marlies.

Why?

The Michael Hutchinson era in Toronto has gone downhill since the beginning of this season. He was never going to be the best option for a playoffs team at this point, but his season has been pretty terrible. Is it all his fault? No. The Mike Babcock rule of playing backups did Hutchinson no favours, playing rough minutes on the back-end of back-to-backs. Still, Hutchinson gave the Leafs minimal chance of winning in each of the games he played. His last game against the Blackhawks was the nail in the coffin though. Three goals on six shots, resulting in a 4-1 first period lead for the Hawks, is insane. Even though not all of the goals against him were his fault, he didn’t look like an NHL goalie. Was Michael Hutchinson given a fair shot in Toronto? Unlike Garret Sparks, I wouldn’t blame Hutchinson for saying no.

Is the Kasimir Kaskisuo era about to start with the Leafs? Probably not, but he gets his shot here. He is finally having a good, consistent year in the AHL, something he also had with the Chicago Wolves. At this point, the Leafs are willing to try anything and have looked to their options in the system first. Kaskisuo might get his first taste of NHL action soon, and if he struggles, then we’ll know it was worth a try.

The Leafs couldn’t wait to give Hutchinson what they gave Sparks, they’re a team that’s surprisingly struggling. It’s unfortunate for both sides, but he’s been pretty terrible to watch so far. Kaskisuo gets to take advantage of this situation, and translate his game to the NHL level. Is he the next Jordan Binnington? Probably not, but if he does well, that’s a huge win.

The Cap Aspect

Like always, there IS a cap aspect to this move. Kaskisuo’s cap hit is 25k less than Hutchinson’s. Is it a big difference? Not really. Does it matter? Not that much. Does it make a difference if Mitch Marner is placed on LTIR? Not until we take him off. It’s still a piece of it, but it’s not why the Leafs did it.

What Else?

David Pagnotta reported that the Leafs looked at Scott Darling, who recently signed in Austria, but hasn’t played a game as of the time of posting. I wouldn’t expect Darling to be brought in straight from the EBEL, an AHL PTO would be more reasonable. It still is interesting, if they do decide to bring in a free agent, I’d expect the Leafs to look at Chad Johnson or even Al Montoya. At this stage, I wouldn’t even rule out the return of Michal Neuvirth, considering this is a short-term gig.

If this is a short-term gig, the Leafs have a few paths to choose from.

1. Keep Kaskisuo for the season
2. Sign an FA for the season
3. Sign an FA for now until a trade is in place
4. Keep Kaskisuo for now until a trade is in place

Luckily, the Leafs have a lot more flexibility for the next month, with the possibility of Marner being placed on LTIR.

Hopefully this isn’t the end of Hutchinson’s NHL career, but in reality, he’s a good 3rd string option, not a full-time backup.

It’s also worth mentioning, Kaskisuo did this in an actual game once:

The backup position is one of the only aspects of this Leafs roster that management can improve without changing a major aspect of the team. Is it the reason they are doing poorly? Not exactly, it doesn’t help, but Hutchinson isn’t the reason this team has underperformed. We’ll see how Kaskisuo does, but we may have to wait until… (looks at schedule) next Saturday? Who makes these schedules?

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