What is your scouting report on him. I only saw him play on tv last season. He didn't seem to have an impression on me either way.
Do you like him?
Can he be a winning NHL backup?
Is this a long shot situation?
1) As a player, he's a great #3 who has been one of the better goalies in the AHL since making it there so I like him enough to give him a shot for now. As a person, he seems pretty intense at times but I do not think he is an asshole or anything.
2) Depends on the defense. I think. The breakdown is essentially:
Nice athleticism. Can make big saves because of it. Not worried about that at all really. If his mental game and positioning are average NHL backup level, I think his athleticism can give him a shot at a long, successful NHL career as an above-average backup/occasional starter.
Good mental game. Has played some big games and has been successful. Won't give up many weak goals and recovers well. NHL is obviously a different game.
Positioning is solid but not spectacular. In general, it's not going to cost him more than a typical NHL backup, but if he makes a big save, it's likely due to his athleticism and not his positioning. Tracks the puck well, even in traffic. Rebound control is somewhat of a concern, but it has improved over the years and he had the athleticism to recover from a bad rebound. However, NHLers are going to make him pay more than AHLers so hopefully his defense helps him out or he cuts it down. Has cut down his "flopping" and is generally not in poor position to get beat clean. Is prone to open up the five hole a bit too much when moving laterally, which is a problem with a lot of cross-seam tips and when people drive the net, but otherwise covers his five hole well.
To summarize: If the Leafs play like ass in front of him, don't expect to win many games. That rule applies to most NHL backups though. If they play like they did in Hutch's stretch, I think he can come out with 50% of the points, which considering those are all back-to-backs against high end teams, should be considered a success for a 675k backup. If the Leafs play well in front of him, like they often did in front of McElhinney, he can probably be a more permanent solution to our backup dilemma, at least for the next year or two. Will probably come closer to winning 2/3 of games and may even be able to play 25-30 games in a season.
3) Pretty sure most goalies are long shot situations... But giving a chance to a 26 year old who has never played an NHL game? Yeah it's a long shot, but it's low risk long shot that could pay dividends so why not?