Confirmed with Link: Calvin Pickard, McBackup, Placed on Waivers

[Intact]

I wish they would've given Pickard a better chance, Sparks sucked every chance he got in the preseason, and McBackup didn't play too well but he has a proven track record

Everyone in this thread should be able to agree on one thing: yes Mcbackup has a proven track record. He is one of the worst goalies in the league consistently, that is his track record

 

[ottomaddox]

No one shedding a teer for Pickard?

 

[Advanced stats]

No! We'll lose Pickard..

 

[DopeyFish]

We're not tight to the cap this season and Carrick is on a 1 year deal so it's irrelevant imo

we actually are tight

we have.... *puches calculator* currently $6.5 in actual usable cap space

though if nylander holds out until near december we will have... *smashes calculator with hammer* no problem with our cap this year

 

[Mattavarner]

Everyone in this thread should be able to agree on one thing: yes Mcbackup has a proven track record. He is one of the worst goalies in the league consistently, that is his track record

was one of the best backup goalies in the league statistically last year, what has Sparks done at the NHL level?

 

[The Podium]

Im guessing this is a calculated move. Which of our 3 goalies is most likely to be waiver claimed. Obviously Sparks AHL resume would peak interest. McBackup at 39 is most likely to clear after which he can freely be brought back up. I would have to assume that Pickard is picked up.

Marincin over Carrick is my biggest grief here.

 

[Eb]

I'd be even more disappointed if one preseason game weighed more heavily in their decision making process than the entire previous year as well as age+upside

The entire previous year, McBackup had a great previous year.

So did Sparks, in the farm league. It was McBackup's job to lose going into camp, I didn't see him losing it. Did you?

 

[ShaneFalco]

Yeah I don't get it. McElhinney was super solid last year and played the best in camp
Maybe they're hoping Pickard and Sparks stick around. I'm not at all sold on Sparks

 

[Zybalto]

I get the battle between Sparks and McBackup being close but anyone who watched the Marlies last year could see Sparks>Picard....and I think Picard is a solid keeper.

Lets see Sparks get settled in to an NHL job with a real team in front of him before totally writing him off. He's never gotten that chance.

 

[Liminality]

We're not tight to the cap this season and Carrick is on a 1 year deal so it's irrelevant imo

 

[Leafidelity]

How does Marincin keep getting away with it, I don't understand

Congrats to Holl though

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

The entire previous year, McBackup had a great previous year.

So did Sparks, in the farm league. It was McBackup's job to lose going into camp, I didn't see him losing it. Did you?

yep, he lost it because he's 35 and wasn't going to repeat that random career year

 

[al secord]

Trust the process.

 

[PuckMagi]

OK... thought about it a little bit more. McBackup is only here for 1 more year, so Sparks is obviously better to keep long term.

This year, we would be better off with McBackup.

However, ideally, we have our backup play 25 - 30 games in the regular season and zero playoff games.

If McBackup wins us an extra few games over Sparks during the regular season... what difference does that really make? It could be the difference between finishing ahead of or behind Tampa. But we're making the playoffs easily either way.

If Andersen gets injured and has to miss some playoff games... then this is a bad move. Does it matter if we face the 3rd place division team (probably Boston) or a wildcard team? Meh... could even be the case where the 3rd place team in our division is worse than both wildcard teams.

So the only real scenario where this hurts us is if Andersen gets injured during the playoffs. Whether we win or lose an extra few regular season games doesn't really matter much. But I think we have a good chance at the cup this year... so keeping the stronger backup for a cup run might have been worth sacrificing whatever potential Sparks has (which I don't think is much).

Anyways, probably shouldn't get bent out of shape about this... and he might get through waivers anyways in which case this isn't even an issue.

 

[Walshy7]

Trust the process.

Process the trust

 

[Eb]

yep, he lost it because he's 35 and wasn't going to repeat that random career year

Lol. There is nothing indicating this, but ok.

I think this had to be more asset management than anything (Sparks having a higher shot of being claimed) but we probably will never know.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I guess there's always back-up goalies available if Sparks doesn't cut it

 

[BertCorbeau]

Don’t like McBackup being waived, he earned the gig over Sparks

Carrick didn’t necessarily win a roster spot but there are names, like Marincin, that I’d waive ahead of him

 

[Zybalto]

I guess there's always back-up goalies available if Sparks doesn't cut it

Picard would probably be fine in a backup role as well. Nice to finally have some goalie depth.

 

[supermann_98]

Dubas obviously made this call, preferring to go with his Marlies boy Sparks over a proven veteran who’s down nothing but win and played well.

When we are playing Boston again in the first round because of lost points due to Sparks terrible backup play instead of winning the Atlantic and playing NJ or some easy team instead ... we can thank this terrible decision for that.

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

The Goalies will sneak through, and if not, that calibre of goaltender is readily available quite often via waivers (which is how both were acquired anyway).

The real mistake is Carrick. 24 year old D-men tend to get better, especially those that have shown good underlying statistics. They are also scarce in terms of NHL player resources go, and thus tend to not make it through waivers.

 

[Zybalto]

Carrick entered this camp fighting for his life and was outplayed by almost everyone, including Marincin.

Not surprised there really.

 

[Pi]

Great call on Sparks over McElhinney. Made absolutely no sense to support the older goalie over a young goalie with a tremendous amount of skill and experience over the last 3 years.

I didn't want to lose Sparks on waivers and I am glad that the Leafs felt the same way.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

How does Marincin keep getting away with it, I don't understand

Congrats to Holl though

I just don't know. Neither does Jesse

 

[deletethis]

Presumably the coach is on point with these moves. I thought Sparks played his way out of contention - what else are pre-season for? I thought Carrick was the best defenseman in the last pre-season game and Holl was the worst and I wanted Holl to make this team ahead of Carrick before the season.