Maple Leafs: Kyle Dubas Dropped the Ball

Backup Goaltending

When Kyle Dubas decided to put Curtis McElhinney on waivers in favour of Garret Sparks, that started the downward spiral of backup goaltenders for the Maple Leafs. In 20 games played last season, Sparks finished the season with a record of 8-9-1. He finished with a save percentage (SV%) of .902 and a goals against average (GAA) of 3.15. The season ended with Sparks being replaced by Michael Hutchinson as the backup for the Playoffs. It was clear that coach Mike Babcock had no faith in Sparks.

After being placed on waivers, McElhinney was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes. The Maple Leafs loss was the Hurricanes gain. McElhinney started 33 games for the Hurricanes and finished with a record of 20-11-2. This season the Maple Leafs cut ties with Sparks and chose to keep Hutchinson as the backup to Frederik Andersen. Again the backup goaltender of choice has not worked out for the Maple Leafs. So far this season, Hutchinson has a record of 0-4-1 in 5 games. The team will now turn to Kasimir Kaskisuo from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) to be the backup.

This season with the Marlies, Kaskisuo has a record of 6-1-2 with a GAA of 2.13 and a SV% of 0.928. The Maple Leafs have their fingers crossed that this AHL goaltender plays better than Sparks or Hutchinson. Kaskisuo is expected to get his first Nation Hockey League (NHL) start on Saturday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins

Toughness

For the last two seasons the Maple Leafs have lacked toughness. I’m not saying they need to sign a goon, but the team needs someone who will stick up for his teammates. Too often we see a Maple Leafs player hit from behind or sucker punched and there is zero reaction from his teammates. The other thing which happens too often is our goaltenders getting run over.

Two players I think the Maple Leafs miss the most are Matt Martin and Roman Polak. Both players are known for standing up for their teammates and holding other teams accountable. Martin is a great team guy who stood up for our younger players and Polak did a great job at keeping opponents away from our goaltenders. Polak had 191 hits last season and Martin had 275 hits. The Maple Leafs could of used both players for their physical edge.

One player who I think the Maple Leafs should have tried to sign this summer was new Stanley Cup champion Pat Maroon. Maroon can move up and down the lineup, brings toughness and was signed for the same $700,000 that the Maple Leafs used to sign Jason Spezza. Maroon had 135 hits last season. Something the Maple Leafs didn’t see much of at all until Kyle Dubas traded for Jake Muzzin.

Summary

It is clear to me that until Kyle Dubas finds the Maple Leafs a stable backup goaltender and adds some toughness, the team is not going very far. In order to have a long playoff run the Maple Leafs need a Maroon type player to police their opponents.

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