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

[I Believe]

Happy to have them back. The dirt cheap deal is a nice plus.

 

[On-the-Fly]

Babcock and Lou spoke highly of his character. Suitable veteran presence and a good locker room guy. Could be worse.

 

[BackHandShelf22]

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

Goalies 2nd on the depth chart might entice you. Goalies 3rd on the depth chart are more or less wildcards in terms of having an impact on your nhl roster.

Your issue with this move is passionate, which is good, but it's making a mountain out of a common molehill.

 

[notdoneyet]

I laugh at all these posters who state
we should have got Nilsson or Condon

First of all we can only sign players who want to come here

Nilsson choice 15 games with us as backup or 30 plus wit Vancouver

same with Condon

these guys are looking to get into games
McIlspelling is happy to get into any amount of games , sit on the bench, not **** and moan and like Babcock says he is a true professional
don't know why people are pissed at this signing.

 

[rdogg]

Glad to see McBackup back for 2 years.

I thought he looked pretty solid since picking him up on waivers.

 

[deletethis]

What McEllinney and Sparks also provide: backup/depth goalies who play in a similar way to the team's starter. That eases the shock of starting a backup or an injury to the starter.

 

[thewave]

Yay!

 

[htpwn]

I would've preferred a few others, but bringing back McBackup not a bad option and the cap hit is right.

If he falters, I'm comfortable with Sparks filling in that role too. I think he's better than he showed back in 2016.

 

[6ix]

Liking this one he was a real gud pro for us last year. Came through for us agaisnt Pitt to clinch a playoff spot when Andy went down.

 

[MJ65]

It's a okay signing - but there were better options available (I believe it's about $ and terms)

 

[Pyrophorus]

Sparks is good.

For the backup, like last season, would've preferred someone else.
Chad Johnson would've been great.

 

[Brown Dog]

Not exciting but I'm fine with it. Was solid last year, knows his role, dirt cheap.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Liked McBackup last year. If he craps the bed we can send him to the Marlies and look for someone else next year.

 

[leafsfuture]

Liked McBackup last year. If he craps the bed we can send him to the Marlies and look for someone else next year.

Or if Sparks is ready it makes it easier to promote him.

Again, a move made to ensure the team is good, but we arent wasting dollars

 

[ponder]

McBackup was solid for us last year, happy to have him backing Freddie up, especially on a very affordable deal. Seems like a good locker-room guy too.

 

[Menzinger]

Not s fan of bringing back McBackup at all. The chances of him being able to repeat his play from last year are near zero, his entire career before then was pretty lousy. The only benefit is the caphit is dirt cheap. But I'll be on edge fin Andersen goes down for a lengthy period of time (or goes through one of his cold streaks again).

That said, happy Sparks got a new deal. Still think he has the talent to be an NHL backup, he's played great with the Marlies.

 

[SprDaVE]

I didn't want McBackup back. Disappointing.

I expect Sparks to take over the backup role

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

I think this is the best deal for the leafs in this off-season. Long way to go but these guys are just going to get hosed by anyone. I hope they just sit duck and don't get too fancy during the offseason. Specially the old turd.

 

[Nithoniniel]

McElhinney was one of very few career backups to have outperformed their xSv% through their careers. He was also a good fit in our system. There were better options, but all of them demand a starter position, or want to be able to challenge for it. Among goaltenders who would accept being the clear backup, I don't know if there were any better options.

 

[SprDaVE]

McElhinney was one of very few career backups to have outperformed their xSv% through their careers. He was also a good fit in our system. There were better options, but all of them demand a starter position, or want to be able to challenge for it. Among goaltenders who would accept being the clear backup, I don't know if there were any better options.

Johnson and Nilsson were clearly better options.

 

[Mess]

As a add on to the goalie conversation Bibeau has signed in SJ it appears.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Johnson and Nilsson were clearly better options.

Yeah. Both wanted to be able to compete for the starting job though.

 

[LeafalCrusader]

Johnson and Nilsson were clearly better options.

More expensive options too.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

How much better and at what cost is very important. If they got 2 more wins over the season for a whole 1+ mil then it's a bad cap management. I don't hate McBackup, he does his job as a back up. We shouldn't expect more unless we have a prospect that can outperform at the same aav.

 

[SprDaVE]

More expensive options too.

More expensive for better quality and still short-term. I'll gladly do that over what McBackup got.