Free agent goaltender Jon Gillies will look to land a contract during Maple Leafs training camp on a professional tryout, the team announced Tuesday.
Gillies, 30, has 35 games of NHL experience in parts of four seasons with the Flames, Blues, Devils, and Blue Jackets. He hasn’t appeared in a game at the top level since 2022-23, when he posted a 1-1-0 record, .864 SV%, and a 4.57 GAA in two starts and one relief appearance for Columbus.
A Calgary third-round pick back in 2012, Gillies took last season off after evidently not receiving any NHL or AHL offers. He landed with the Coyotes on a two-way deal in the summer of 2022, posting a subpar .878 SV% in 15 games for their AHL affiliate in Tucson before being traded to the Blue Jackets around the trade deadline.
A fringe No. 3 netminder at best, Gillies owns an 8-16-3 record, 3.39 GAA, and .891 SV% in his NHL minutes. He’s fared significantly better in the AHL, where he has a 2.94 GAA, .904 SV%, nine shutouts, and a 78-71-32 record in 184 appearances across eight professional seasons.
If he lands a contract with Toronto, it’ll either be a two-way deal or an AHL contract with their affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. At highest, he would slot fifth on their goaltending depth chart behind Joseph Woll, veteran NHLers Anthony Stolarz and Matt Murray, and AHL All-Star Dennis Hildeby.
Hehehehe I was just a little off with his height.
Caught myself saying “Isn’t this guy that’s like eight foot six?”
Thought he’d turn into a good NHL goalie, but it wasn’t to be.
Nah, Gillies is sunk. The guy’s done OKAY in the AHL, but not really better than that. Why would I want that on the farm instead of some prospect who might be someone some day?
It could happen where yet another Flames castoff does well. Even Big Save Dave looks to have bounced back. I used to root hard for this guy. He was a very good college goaltender back in the day. Flames had high hopes for this kid.