Speculation: Does anyone have 2nd thoughts/change of heart about Mrazek?

[The Hanging Jowl]

Until I see him play for the Leafs, I have no opinion at all.

 

[Al14]

I watched him as an Ottawa 67. Always wanted him as a Leaf. We'll see if he can handle the pressure of playing in Toronto !!!

 

[banks]

He's an entertaining goalie. That's for sure. When he was with Detroit I really thought he was the real deal, next big star. He looks phenomenal whenever I see him. But there's clearly been bad streaks.

I don't think he's as good as Freddy was when he first arrived in Toronto. We won't get consistency like Andersen's first few years again for a long time. But he should look good most nights and keep us from overworking Campbell.

I'd bet any money that Campbell gets the first start of the playoffs, assuming we make it and they're both healthy.

 

[makbeer]

No zeke, you routinely dismiss well-constructed thoughts with zero support behind your argument. Likewise, you don’t deserve nor have the right to demand anyone’s time or effort in response.

 

[Muston Atthews]

I totally forgot we signed him

 

[Gabriel426]

Can you have a 2nd thought without having a 1st one?

 

[Nooodles]

You gotta love Leafs nation. Having 2nd thoughts 4 weeks after we got the player. In september.

 

[ottomaddox]

You gotta love Leafs nation. Having 2nd thoughts 4 weeks after we got the player. In september.

What is the proper response time for having second thoughts?

 

[CupcakeSprinkles]

He's a good platoon goalie.. I think like any new player we have to see how he plays. He's in the James Reimer camp for me as a goalie that is definitely an NHL goalie, but not one I'd want as a starter consistently.

 

[Pholus]

I really do - because I only know of one elite goalie in the league.

Vasilevskiy or Hellebuyck? I would say both are elite.

MAF was elite, though I would be more confident in "was" if he wasn't coming off a Vezina wining season (even at 36).

 

[zeke]

Vasilevskiy or Hellebuyck? I would say both are elite.

MAF was elite, though I would be more confident in "was" if he wasn't coming off a Vezina wining season (even at 36).

Hellebuyck is close but I don't think you can look at his track record and see dependable greatness yet.

Fleury has had such a wild career. So inconsistent. And now he's old. There's a reason Vegas traded for Lehner in the first place, and now gave Fleury away.

 

[Mess]

My 2nd thoughts are Carolina dumped Mrazek to sign Freddy Andersen as their goalie, and Leafs dumped Freddy Andersen to sign Petr Mrazek as their goalie in hopes of getting better playoff results after both teams being disappointed with their previous goalie performance over the course of the last 3 playoffs they appeared in.

Petr Mrazek playoff stats past 3 seasons with Canes ... 17 games 8 wins & 9 losses with a 2.90 GAA and .898 sv%.
vs
F Andersen playoff stats last 3 seasons with Leafs ........ 18 games 8 wins & 10 losses with 2.78 GAA and .918 sv%

Which team is really gaining here, and which goalie would you want in net in the playoffs for your team with playoff aspirations of desired success?

Note: Neither is valid response.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Freddy had to go as he will never win a clincher for us .. 0-8 said it all .. too bad last summer nobody was willing to give Leafs a 1st rounder/2nd rounder back for him - says a lot .. would have been nice to have had 2 1st rounders in 2022 draft so we can draft a couple centres .. but we had to manage da CAP and Dubie did .. Mrazek is OK not great but fine as a platoon/backup .. bottom line if Soup carries da mail like last season it will not matter much .. there was not a lot of better options below 4M AAV out there .. nothing special here .. I can't see us getting a top 3 spot next season due to division change but it is possible to fight for a wildcard and if lucky we get into da Metro playoff space

 

[Twine Tickler]

At the end of the day, he can't be much worse than Freddy was last year.

I have a ton of love for Freddy, he was a rock for us for the better part of 3.5 years. Something we hadn't had since Eddie Belfour. He let us down here and there, sometimes on the big stage of the playoffs. But ultimately who hasn't let us down in that 5 year time frame? I hope he gets his game back, because he was/is a very strong goaltender when he is on his game. I hope he kills it in CAR.

Mrazek is probably the more enigmatic goalie of the 2, but has a more recent history of performing well. I am not sure I associate Mrazek's game with he word stability. He won't be counted on like Freddy was in his tenure, but more so to share the load with soupy. So we don't need him to be a rockstar every night. He has proven to be effective in that exact capacity. I really don't think we should expect anything more. I really do feel comfortable with a Mrazek/Campbell split and would 100% say it is an upgrade from our tending situation from last year. As much as I still think Freddy can bounce back, there was no denying what he was last year. Absolutely terrible.

I guess time will tell, but I am excited to see what he can bring.

 

[kb]

Can you have a 2nd thought without having a 1st one?

I LOL'd. Well done.

 

[TMLAM34]

He’s a good goalie as long as he can stay healthy.

 

[cannucky]

Had to sign someone and I'm assuming he will be better than the Zamboni driver .

 

[Pholus]

Hellebuyck is close but I don't think you can look at his track record and see dependable greatness yet.

Fleury has had such a wild career. So inconsistent. And now he's old. There's a reason Vegas traded for Lehner in the first place, and now gave Fleury away.

That's fair. I think if you put Hellebuyck on Tampa and Vasilevskiy on Winnipeg, opinions on them might switch. Or even if you gave Hellebuyck a competent defensive team, the gap between those 2 would get much closer.

Vegas traded for Lehner because they didn't think Fleury would still be good (which was the right call IMO). They were kind of forced to give him away since expecting a 37 year old goalie to perform is dicey, never mind the cap hit.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

My 2nd thoughts are Carolina dumped Mrazek to sign Freddy Andersen as their goalie, and Leafs dumped Freddy Andersen to sign Petr Mrazek as their goalie in hopes of getting better playoff results after both teams being disappointed with their previous goalie performance over the course of the last 3 playoffs they appeared in.

Petr Mrazek playoff stats past 3 seasons with Canes ... 17 games 8 wins & 9 losses with a 2.90 GAA and .898 sv%.
vs
F Andersen playoff stats last 3 seasons with Leafs ........ 18 games 8 wins & 10 losses with 2.78 GAA and .918 sv%

Which team is really gaining here, and which goalie would you want in net in the playoffs for your team with playoff aspirations of desired success?

Note: Neither is valid response.

This is a fair analysis. We did gain 1.2M in cap space by the swap though. Do I have a ton of confidence in the tandem? No, but ya never know, we could get a Khudobin or Binnigton kind of run out of one of them.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Name the elite goalies in the league.

Vasi and Hellebuyck are the 2 best in the league. I still consider Price as a guy I could be comfortable taking first overall to win a big game but he has been inconsistent these last few years during the season and is getting up there in age but would not consider elite. Then the rest are either Average starters or 1B guys.

 

[keonsbitterness]

What is the proper response time for having second thoughts?

45 years.

There's a reason Vegas traded for Lehner in the first place, and now gave Fleury away.

Yeah, the cap.

 

[Its not your fault]

I have to admit that I’m a little nervous about him… the fact
that Carolina let him go and then turned around and signed Freddie for more money
Hmmmmmmmmmm

Or did he run?

 

[BigBlu]

I thought his debut album was pretty good. Newer stuff has dropped off a bit.

Bella Luna - YouTube

 

[Anthrax442]

I have to admit that I’m a little nervous about him… the fact
that Carolina let him go and then turned around and signed Freddie for more money
Hmmmmmmmmmm

Andersen is a better goalie, simple.

 

[Zybalto]

Andersen is a better goalie, simple.

Both have had some injury issues but Andersen has been one of the worst starters in the league for a while now.

Since Jan. 1st 2020:

Andersen:

Starts: 44
Shots Against/60: 29.76
High Danger Shots Against/60: 7.96
Expected Goals Against/60: 2.44
GAA: 3.06
Save%: .897


Mrazek:

Starts: 26
Shots Against/60: 28.28
High Danger Shots Against/60: 9.14
Expected Goals Against/60: 2.61
GAA: 2.42
Save%: .914


Both have had their share of injuries but Mrazek looks to be the safer pick with Andersen looking so poor at the ripe young age of 31 with a ton of wear and tear from carrying the Leafs his first 3 years here.

Maybe the change of scenery will do him well though and he'll turn it around but thats a pretty big gamble by the Hurricanes, especially considering they give up more big chances. For good or ill, it was time for the Leafs to move on from him though...