Speculation: TOR may have to acquire another goalie

[indigobuffalo]

Works out for us because..McKenna just went on waivers..whatever happened to Mike Condon? AHL?

Something Dubas couldn't have seen coming ..more than a goalie this may force him to get a top 4 RHD..good D make goalies look good. I actually liked Hutch today..much better positioning and rebound control vs sparks

And yet, such a promising result.

Maybe the eye test is onto something.

Wins are bad, losses are good!

 

[ToDavid]

Again, if Freddie is coming back in a game or two why would Babs be worried about Kask getting playing time? This sounds bad to me.

If they’re just talking about a waiver pickup or future considerations trade then it’s worth it even if it’s just a couple extra games.

He’s struggled and battled some injuries this season. He needs to be playing as much as possible.

 

[Stephen]

It would be silly for anyone to get into a Sparks vs Hutchinson debate, that seems like a lose lose proposition.

That said, just because a goalie hits waivers when you need a fill in doesn't mean you necessarily have to take him. McKenna looks even more terrible than Hutchinson.

 

[jrgtml67]

Wasn't there a last man standing vote?

 

[Once]

Let’s bring back McBackup.

 

[trellaine201]

Let’s bring back McBackup.

That’s what happens when you have cap issues. Leafs cheaped out on a backup. You get what you pay for unless your name is Nylander.

 

[Warden of the North]

It would be silly for anyone to get into a Sparks vs Hutchinson debate, that seems like a lose lose proposition.

That said, just because a goalie hits waivers when you need a fill in doesn't mean you necessarily have to take him. McKenna looks even more terrible than Hutchinson.

The point of McKenna is he sits on the bench so Kaskisuo can go and play for the Marlies

 

[Matthews4Calder]

Andersen's play over the last few years is quite simply the only reason the team is where it is and has been.

The addition of JT was great but still didn't fix the issues with this team.

Nylander was overpaid and some of that money should have been used for a backup.

Personally they should have never gotten rid of McElhinney.

 

[yubbers]

And yet Sparks is winning games.

If only context didn't matter. It's almost like he plays for the one of the most potent offences in the league.

3.01 GAA and a .905 SV% Not very good. I swear to god this is like Reimer all over again. And Reimer was and is far better than Garret Sparks.

 

[Nineteen67]

Who hit Sparks in the head ?

 

[Stephen]

Andersen's play over the last few years is quite simply the only reason the team is where it is and has been.

The addition of JT was great but still didn't fix the issues with this team.

Nylander was overpaid and some of that money should have been used for a backup.

Personally they should have never gotten rid of McElhinney.

No, it's not simply the only reason, it's a key cog in a well oiled machine. And of course chances are things are going to go tits up when your Vezina goalie is out for an extended period of time.

 

[Nineteen67]

No, it's not simply the only reason, it's a key cog in a well oiled machine. And of course chances are things are going to go **** up when your Vezina goalie is out for an extended period of time.

It didn’t...their backup played well enough to win 10 in a row and pull away from the rest of the division

 

[yubbers]

No, it's not simply the only reason, it's a key cog in a well oiled machine. And of course chances are things are going to go **** up when your Vezina goalie is out for an extended period of time.

We were just fine when that happened last year. Management made a strength of ours a weakness with how they mishandled the backup situation. So here we are.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

Who hit Sparks in the head ?

I've heard Nylander.

 

[Kiwi]

That’s what happens when you have cap issues. Leafs cheaped out on a backup. You get what you pay for unless your name is Nylander.

We don't have cap issues this year
We kept the guy we wanted and lost the other two to waivers
We didn't "cheap out" none of those 3 guys was making jack **** this season
The Nylander thing was pointless and incorrect

So nothing you wrote was factually correct, good effort

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

We were just fine when that happened last year. Management made a strength of ours a weakness with how they mishandled the backup situation. So here we are.

Not sure how they mishandled the goaltending. Leafs were looking long term and had to see if Sparks was NHL good.
Sparks record certainly isn't worse than last year's Mcilerney. Name the games....and think there were three the Sparks lost, that you think the Mcilerney would have won. Believe the Leafs were shut out in one, scored one goal in another and lost in a shootout, besides his six wins.

 

[Nineteen67]

I've heard Nylander.

I guessed it was him this AM. They showed a brief clip on the game but I wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Wouldn’t it be fitting if Nylander was the reason the Leafs missed the playoffs.

 

[lifelonghockeyfan]

I guessed it was him this AM. They showed a brief clip on the game but I wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Wouldn’t it be fitting if Nylander was the reason the Leafs missed the playoffs.

Gee, just having Nylander IN the lineup might be enough reason to miss playoffs, never might taking out the goalie with a slap shot to the head. (if that report is accurate)

 

[Stephen]

We were just fine when that happened last year. Management made a strength of ours a weakness with how they mishandled the backup situation. So here we are.

I think you have to see the Sparks promotion as a calculated risk. They developed the goalie for like 7 years in the system to be the AHL goalie of the year. Now, watching him, you might think that his NHL starter potential is limited due to the way he plays, and I tend to agree with you. But you've basically developed an asset with a great resume and is still relatively unproven.

The ultimate upside to keeping Sparks is he becomes a star goalie to replace Andersen. That's not likely. But the next step is if he plays well enough someone else might think so, and we could get a 1st or a 2nd back. Just look at Martin Jones, Cam Talbot, Jonathan Bernier, Vesa Toskala, etc. So keeping Sparks and trying to inflate his value and developing him as an NHLer is a longer term project that has more benefit than letting him walk and keeping a good veteran backup we found on waivers.

 

[Kurtz]

If only context didn't matter. It's almost like he plays for the one of the most potent offences in the league.

3.01 GAA and a .905 SV% Not very good. I swear to god this is like Reimer all over again. And Reimer was and is far better than Garret Sparks.

What is the average GAA and SV% for an NHL backup this year?

 

[Marshy]

If the Leafs want to play whatever you call that system they play AND go with a porous RD like they are - They NEED the BEST backup!

Who is the best backup REALISTICALLY available and what do we have to overpay to get him? Can we get him tomorrow? PLEASE?

 

[yubbers]

Not sure how they mishandled the goaltending. Leafs were looking long term and had to see if Sparks was NHL good.
Sparks record certainly isn't worse than last year's Mcilerney. Name the games....and think there were three the Sparks lost, that you think the Mcilerney would have won. Believe the Leafs were shut out in one, scored one goal in another and lost in a shootout, besides his six wins.

We had a solid backup. We picked up JT. Why roll the dice if you know you're trying to go deep in the playoffs? The gamble doesn't look like it's paying off well does it?

 

[yubbers]

What is the average GAA and SV% for an NHL backup this year?

Couldn't tell ya. I bet you can though so on with it

 

[Buds17]

Not sure how they mishandled the goaltending. Leafs were looking long term and had to see if Sparks was NHL good.
Sparks record certainly isn't worse than last year's Mcilerney. Name the games....and think there were three the Sparks lost, that you think the Mcilerney would have won. Believe the Leafs were shut out in one, scored one goal in another and lost in a shootout, besides his six wins.

Agreed. Even if Sparks isn't making a habit of winning games for the team (performance wise, not record wise), it'd be tough to suggest he's losing them. McElhinney currently has the better numbers this season, but he's playing an expanded role in Carolina that he wouldn't have had as a Leaf. The team would be in the same spot with either goalie to this point.

 

[yubbers]

I think you have to see the Sparks promotion as a calculated risk. They developed the goalie for like 7 years in the system to be the AHL goalie of the year. Now, watching him, you might think that his NHL starter potential is limited due to the way he plays, and I tend to agree with you. But you've basically developed an asset with a great resume and is still relatively unproven.

The ultimate upside to keeping Sparks is he becomes a star goalie to replace Andersen. That's not likely. But the next step is if he plays well enough someone else might think so, and we could get a 1st or a 2nd back. Just look at Martin Jones, Cam Talbot, Jonathan Bernier, Vesa Toskala, etc. So keeping Sparks and trying to inflate his value and developing him as an NHLer is a longer term project that has more benefit than letting him walk and keeping a good veteran backup we found on waivers.

I think you're spot on. But the question then becomes....was he more valuable just coming off a Calder or now? And was the team better with Mac as the backup or now? I think all the past tense situations unfortunately win.

Maybe it's just because I had no hope for Sparks do I find this so frustrating. It was obvious this would happen if andy went down. We're in trouble