Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign McBackup (850K) & Sparks (675K) to 2 year deals

[realgoodleafs]

Well I'm not unhappy at all. But my understanding was we were trying to upgrade at back up. Not status quo.

Good backups don't want to start 12 games per year.

 

[bluewhiteblue]

Don't like McElhinney as an NHL backup for the full year. AHL starter and first call up is great, but he has to be one of the worst backups in the league.

Seemed to do well enough for us last year.

 

[hullsy47]

happy with that,

perfect

 

[Warden of the North]

The only "backup" I really had interest in was COndon, and he signed a couple days ago.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Like it.

McBackup did well for us last year. Worth the gamble.

Also, Sparks is a good #3. Yeah, he wasn't so hot when he first came up, but that was a tank year. It was a different team. He was also solid in the AHL last year. Worth the gamble too.

Sparks shutout the Oilers in his nhl debut. Guess you missed that game

 

[Kamiccolo]

Well I'm not unhappy at all. But my understanding was we were trying to upgrade at back up. Not status quo.

Leaf fans want us to go all in without moving anything significant and also want us to poof cap space out of our ass.

Management is smart enough to know last year COULD have been a flash in a pan and they should play it safe and upgrade weak spots without any major moves that could shake the dynamic of that room.

We need to see what we have in these guys. Is Matthews always going to score around 40 goals? Nylander a future winger? JVR going to sign here for cheap? Zaitsev improves or regresses? Rielly and Gards play like the playoffs or like in Jan?

For all we know Rielly, Gards AND Zaitsev take a step forward and each turn into a solid top pairing D. Suddenly the need is a top 4 D and not a top pairing one, reducing the trade cost.

Hell, maybe Gards and Zaitsev manage to be a successful shutdown pairing for us and Rielly can play a Shultz type game and run with it? Or maybe we get two solid pairings that can both shut down AND generate offense from the backend.

Just wait and see, keep drafting and eventually a trade will appear or a UFA will come through. No point forcing it.

 

[Bullseye]

Smart conservative signings. As expected.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Nice. McBackup was awesome for us last season. 2 years wouldn't hurt at all.

 

[bonjovi0308]

Really disappointed...not only the leafs failed to upgrade the defense during the opportunity created by the expansion draft, they even failed to upgrade the backup goalie position, which in my opinion is more important than a top 4 d. Guess they really stay on course and wouldn't push over the edge by signing some big free agents short term nor trading for a capable backup who can fill in starter minutes. If Anderson suffers year ending injury, do you have faith that Macbackup can carry us into the playoffs?

 

[Black hat blue eyes]

Leaf fans want us to go all in without moving anything significant and also want us to poof cap space out of our ass.

Management is smart enough to know last year COULD have been a flash in a pan and they should play it safe and upgrade weak spots without any major moves that could shake the dynamic of that room.

We need to see what we have in these guys. Is Matthews always going to score around 40 goals? Nylander a future winger? JVR going to sign here for cheap? Zaitsev improves or regresses? Rielly and Gards play like the playoffs or like in Jan?

For all we know Rielly, Gards AND Zaitsev take a step forward and each turn into a solid top pairing D. Suddenly the need is a top 4 D and not a top pairing one, reducing the trade cost.

Hell, maybe Gards and Zaitsev manage to be a successful shutdown pairing for us and Rielly can play a Shultz type game and run with it? Or maybe we get two solid pairings that can both shut down AND generate offense from the backend.

Just wait and see, keep drafting and eventually a trade will appear or a UFA will come through. No point forcing it.

Wait a damn minute here. Do not quote me and not even address what I said. No where did I go on a full tangent about the leafs. I was asking for an upgrade. As in Condon or Niilson (sp?). Don't spring board off my comment and make it seem like I am noob asking why we didn't try to sign all the top free agents.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

they will regret this signing there is no way, at 34 he will repeat the year he had last year

 

[BackHandShelf22]

Really disappointed...

If Anderson suffers year ending injury, do you have faith that Macbackup can carry us into the playoffs?

That thought process is consistent with half, if not most, of the league.

It's a cheap contract. Allows for upgrades in other areas due to the salary. Kaskisuo is in the minors if the leafs get desperate. In general though, it's a backup goalie. So meh..

 

[Crysis]

Don't like McElhinney as an NHL backup for the full year. AHL starter and first call up is great, but he has to be one of the worst backups in the league.

Someone got an early start to the brewskies this morning...

He's one of the BEST backups, not worst.

 

[Mess]

they will regret this signing there is no way, at 34 he will repeat the year he had last year

McElhinney posted a 6-7 record with the Maple Leafs this season after being picked up on waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets in January. His save percentage sat at .914 and he owned a goals against average of 2.85 in 14 games with the Leafs.

 

[Schenn]

I thought McBackup did well last year. I hope he continues his success!

 

[LeafSteel]

No issues with these signings at all McBackup was solid and we still want to see what we have in Sparks.

Would have like Condon but I am fine with what we have done here.

 

[bonjovi0308]

That thought process is consistent with half, if not most, of the league.

It's a cheap contract. Allows for upgrades in other areas due to the salary. Kaskisuo is in the minors if the leafs get desperate. In general though, it's a backup goalie. So meh..

The Leafs were talking about depth in order to compete. Guess what, our goalie depth is the weakest out of all three positions. Again, does the Mcbackup and Sparks tandem enticing you? If Anderson is out for lengthy period they will probably need to trade for a fill in starter which is a lateral move

 

[Rick74*]

Excellent move!

Low cap hit
Great goalie
And you start working on sparks.

Sparks has two years to become our solid back up. If he cant hes done

 

[Rude Dog]

I like it. Would have been hard to sign a younger up and coming goalie when they know Andersen is in the way.

 

[Mess]

Lets hope Freddy Andersen can play > 65 games and they need a backup for < 15 games.

 

[pylon17]

It's cheap so I'm fine with it.

 

[Bullseye]

The Leafs were talking about depth in order to compete. Guess what, our goalie depth is the weakest out of all three positions. Again, does the Macbackup and Sparks tandem enticing you? If Anderson is out for lengthy period they will probably need to trade for a fill in starter which is a lateral move

They have started addressing the goalie void by drafting in the mid rounds for 2 consecutive drafts. It will take time. Team defence will help whoever is between the pipes.

Sparks is young and may still develop into a very solid back-up goalie.

 

[FlareKnight]

The Leafs needed to upgrade from where they started last season in the backup spot. This handles that. Getting just average backup levels from the start instead of the tire fire Enroth brought will be nice.

And it's a cheap enough deal that they can afford to give Sparks a shot in that spot and still have a cost effective situation behind Andersen.

 

[Cor]

Leafs clearly didn't like the options / salaries that were out there. Stick with what we have, if they don't work out, or a better option comes along later, we can bury them in the minors.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Yeah you have to think they like Sparks as a backup option if need be as well