TORONTO -- In this episode of how the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending turns … it will be Michael Hutchinson taking back duties from Jack Campbell for Monday’s regular-season finale against the Edmonton Oilers.
In and of itself the decision doesn’t raise alarm bells with Hutchinson having delivered a 31-save shutout in his previous start against Connor McDavid and Co. last month.
But it speaks to some potentially serious underlying issues at that position.
Hutchinson entered the season as the organization’s No. 4 option in goal and will be appearing in his seventh game -- one more than Campbell, who has won all six of the starts his injured left leg allowed him to make. Aaron Dell, the No. 3 option coming out of the off-season, was long ago lost on waivers to New Jersey while No. 1 Frederik Andersen hasn’t been on skates since March 19 while dealing with his own lower-body injury.
Put another way: Andersen played through injury until he couldn’t any longer and is now turning a “day-to-day” absence into week-to-week, at minimum. Campbell was rock solid behind him but isn’t considered fit enough to play Monday after making three starts in the previous 10 days.
“We’ve got to really be smart with how we manage Jack’s workload here,” said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. “The reality is that he hasn’t been playing at 100 per cent and the games take a toll on him. The combination of the fact that he’s not used to playing multiple games in a row and the fact that his body hasn’t quite co-operated with him the way he liked to through this season, we’ve got to be really smart.”
With six weeks remaining in the regular season, this is not where a Stanley Cup hopeful wants to find itself.
Campbell at least took part in an optional skate at Scotiabank Arena on Monday morning after missing Sunday’s practice. But it was somewhat telling that Keefe declined to confirm he’d even serve as Hutchinson’s backup against the Oilers -- potentially leaving newcomer Veini Vehviläinen to do it after just two on-ice sessions since finishing a 14-day quarantine following a trade from Columbus.
Hutchinson has been steady this season with a .922 save percentage, but was pulled six minutes into his last start after giving up two goals on three shots to Ottawa. It’s hard to imagine the organization giving him a run of games unless it was left with no other choice.
Where things stand with Campbell isn’t entirely clear.
He’s already endured two extended absences with his leg issue this season -- the second of which, from Feb. 28 to March 20, where he skated basically the entire time but couldn’t get comfortable. He stopped 17 of 20 shots during Saturday’s 4-3 overtime against the Oilers and then promptly missed practice.
“He took the day yesterday because he wasn’t feeling the best coming off of the game and I think he’s feeling a little bit better today and that’s positive, but I just think us continuing to roll him out there when he’s not 100 per cent is not smart,” said Keefe. “So we’ve got to manage it.”
To this point, Leafs management has been resistant to the idea of acquiring another goalie through trade -- in part because they don’t want to use up more valuable cap space on the position while also hoping to make a move to upgrade their forward group before the April 12 deadline.
That would be much less of an issue if Andersen was deemed unable to return for the regular season because his $5-million cap hit could be placed on long term injured reserve and allow the team to exceed the cap ceiling.
So far that hasn’t happened.
Among the goalies likely available are James Reimer or Alex Nedeljkovic in Carolina; Elvis Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo in Columbus; Anaheim’s Ryan Miller; and Detroit’s Jonathan Bernier, who is nursing his own injury at the moment.
The Leafs are allowing fewer shots and high-danger chances than in previous seasons and are basically middle of the pack with a team-wide .909 save percentage. They’re getting by and have stayed atop the North Division standings all year long.
But as they embark on six games in nine days, the need for more goaltending depth seems more apparent than ever.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwb3J0c25ldC5jYS9uaGwvYXJ0aWNsZS9tYXBsZS1sZWFmcy1nb2FsdGVuZGluZy11bmNlcnRhaW50eS1jYXVzZS1jb25jZXJuL9IBVmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwb3J0c25ldC5jYS9uaGwvbWFwbGUtbGVhZnMtZ29hbHRlbmRpbmctdW5jZXJ0YWludHktY2F1c2UtY29uY2Vybi9zbi1hbXAv?oc=5
2021-03-29 17:16:00Z
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