Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Goaltender Michael Hutchinson
With Frederik Andersen currently day-to-day with a groin injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs had already been forced to call up Kasimir Kaskisuo – and his .866 AHL save percentage. The team was a Garret Sparks injury away from having the struggling Kaskisuo as their starter in the short term. Depth in net had become a dire need for the organization and today GM Kyle Dubas was quick to address that need. The Maple Leafs have announced that they have acquired goaltender Michael Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2020 fifth-round pick.
Hutchinson, 28, is a shrewd pickup for Toronto, especially for a future late-round selection. Hutchinson is not far removed from being a regular fixture in net for the Winnipeg Jets from 2014 to 2017. While Hutchinson lost that job in Winnipeg last season, making only three appearances, he managed to play in 76 games over the three seasons prior. In a total of 106 NHL appearances, including four with Florida this year, Hutchinson has a .907 save percentage and 2.70 GAA. Hutchinson has had his fair share of struggles at both the NHL and AHL level this season and has not been the reliable third-string option to injury-prone Roberto Luongo and James Reimer as the Panthers had hoped when they signed him this past off-season. However, his minor league play has been vastly superior to Kaskisuo’s and his career NHL numbers are quite similar to Sparks’. The Leafs still don’t have a stalwart backup goalie to Andersen, but have cheaply acquired an experienced veteran keeper that is a clear upgrade to their depth in net.
Perhaps the best part about adding Hutchinson is that he has already cleared waivers this season and may be moved back and forth between the Maple Leafs and Marlies at will. Toronto’s goaltending depth issues began just prior to the start of the season, when both Calvin Pickard and Curtis McElhinney were claimed on waivers when the Leafs opted to protect Sparks. Pickard had a rough experience with the Philadelphia Flyers early on, but the Maple Leafs nevertheless tried to reclaim their lost property when the Flyers also placed him on waivers. However, they failed to bring Pickard back in as he was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes. McElhinney, on the other hand, has been the best of the Carolina Hurricanes’ trio of goalies and is unlikely to be up for claim again this season. Hutchinson was likely one of the top two-way keepers available and apparently one of the more affordable.
As for the Panthers, when healthy the duo of Luongo and Reimer have the roster spots in Florida locked up. Hutchinson was never going to overtake either keeper, especially given his performance this season. The team also hoped to get young Sam Montembeault some NHL experience this season and the Springfield Thunderbirds starter now takes over as the organization’s No. 3. It makes sense that the Panthers got what they could for a disappointing signing. However, if injury does strike Luongo again, Reimer’s struggles and Montembeault’s inexperience become of greater concern for Florida, especially if they are fighting for a playoff spot. Expect the Panthers to keep an eye on waivers and the goalie market for the remainder of the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Expecting To Avoid Rental Market
Despite the huge cap hit that William Nylander‘s new contract carries due to it being signed so deep into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs still have plenty of cap space. In fact, as the trade deadline approaches at the end of February the Maple Leafs could spend almost as much as anyone in the league in pursuit of a Stanley Cup. A lot of that is thanks to some key players—Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Kasperi Kapanen in particular—still being on entry-level contracts, something that will not be true a year from now. That gives the Maple Leafs an unlikely window to go hard after rental options this year, but that’s not exactly what GM Kyle Dubas is thinking.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription required), Dubas explains that Toronto doesn’t really believe that there are many options on the rental market that could “really change the dynamic” of the team and instead would be looking for trade options that come under contract beyond this season. As we noted yesterday in a piece surrounding Matthews and Marner, acquiring longer-term pieces could be very difficult without any cost certainty for those two. However, if the Maple Leafs get one or both under contract over the next two months they would know exactly what kind of player they can bring in at the deadline.
It’s interesting that the team doesn’t see much value in the rental market, given how exciting it could appear to other clubs around the league. Names like Matt Duchene, Mark Stone, Artemi Panarin, Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, Wayne Simmonds, Jeff Skinner, Erik Karlsson and others are all unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, and though not all will be dealt by the deadline there is still quite a bit of talent available—especially at forward. Perhaps that is where the Maple Leafs lack of interest comes from, given their obvious needs on defense. The rental list on the blue line is much shorter than up front, and might not have a fit for Toronto.
Even with Dubas’ expressed disinterest, there are bound to be rumors of the Maple Leafs involvement on some of the big names towards the deadline. If the team doesn’t get any cost certainty in regards to Matthews and Marner by then, perhaps those rumors will have some weight. Otherwise, Toronto seems like they are quite willing to slowly gather assets that can help them over the next few seasons and not just for a few months down the stretch.