Here we are, another day closer to the March 21 NHL trade deadline for the 2021-22 NHL season and the Toronto Maple Leafs are showing they need to improve on a position again. This time we look in between the pipes with the goalie situation that is brewing. Jack Campbell has struggled lately after the All-Star break and he was recently put on injured reserve for at least two weeks with a rib injury that he has been having for some time now. Petr Mrazek was brought in for these types of situations this past off-season but he had injury problems of his own earlier in the season and currently does not look like he has a lot of confidence in between the pipes for the Maple Leafs. After allowing 4 goals on 12 shots against the 30th place team Arizona Coyotes, he was pulled in the second period. Right from the start of that game, he did not look like he was wanting to be in there and even looked at the bench a few times before he was eventually pulled from the game.

The goaltending situation has been a question in Toronto for MANY years now. The last time there wasn’t so much concern about the goalie situation was around the time that Ed Belfour was the goalie for the Maple Leafs and the late Pat Quinn, R.I.P., was the coach and GM. This season there seemed to be less concern about the goalie situation as Jack Campbell has played well since he came to the Maple Leafs on February 6, 2020, with Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings, and singing Mrazek to help him with the workload seemed like a good fit. Unfortunately, it has not worked out quite the way Leafs fans and management have hoped so let’s look at some potential additions the Maple Leafs could make before the deadline.

ALEXANDER GEORGIEV

We will start first with one who I do not believe will be a person the Maple Leafs will add, and that is the NHL’s version of the Bulgarian Brute Alexandar Georgiev of the New York Rangers. Alexandar is currently on a contract with a $2.425 million cap hit and will be a restricted free agent (RFA) with arbitration rights after this season. He is 26 years old. This season he is 7-9-2 in 23 Games Played (GP) with a 3.15 Goals Against Average (G.A.A.) and a .893 save %. His career numbers are 50-47-11 in 119 GP with a 2.98 G.A.A. and a .908 save %. Not shown in these numbers is the fact that he always seems to steal games for the New York Rangers against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He seems to have Toronto’s number over his career. He has the ambition to be a starter in the NHL but has not quite earned that title as of yet. He has stolen a lot of games for the Rangers against other opponents and not just the Maple Leafs. When he gets consistent starts he looks good but when there are large gaps between games it takes him a while to find his groove again. His rebounding control is something that he would need to improve on as well as it is average at best. It would be a high cost to add him to the roster because of his age, his RFA rights, and the fact he is about to hit the prime of his career. As much as I would love to see Georgiev Day in Toronto, I just don’t see it happening right now at least.

Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2017-18	21	NYR	NHL	10	9	4	4	1	27	331	304	.918	3.15	0
2018-19	22	NYR	NHL	33	30	14	13	4	91	1057	966	.914	2.91	2
2019-20	23	NYR	NHL	34	32	17	14	2	96	1063	967	.910	3.04	2
2020-21	24	NYR	NHL	19	18	8	7	2	44	465	421	.905	2.71	2
2021-22	25	NYR	NHL	23	19	7	9	2	62	578	516	.893	3.15	0
Career		5 yrs	NHL	119	108	50	47	11	320	3494	3174	.908	2.98	6

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD

Next is another one that I wouldn’t mind seeing but don’t think it will happen is Mackenzie Blackwood of the New Jersey Devils. Mackenzie is 25 years old and currently on a contract with a $2.8 million cap hit and will be an RFA with arbitration after next season. This season he is 9-9-3 in 23 GP with a 3.29 G.A.A. and a .894 save %. Over his career, he is 55-50-15 with a 2.91 G.A.A. and a .908 save %. At 6’4″ he is a big body but he is also very quick in the crease. His size is very beneficial to the traditional butterfly style he plays between the pipes. He is also a good puck handler to take some pressure off his defencemen. His reaction time for the blocker and glove saves is very good. At 25 years old he is about to hit the prime years of his career. He has had inconsistent play behind a not-great Devils team. There is a lot of upside to his career due to his age and the fact he has shown that he can be a starter in the NHL. Due to his age and cap situation, it would also be a high cost to add this player to the Maple Leafs. Mackenzie would look good in Toronto but he is another one I don’t see coming at least this season.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2018-19	22	NJD	NHL	23	21	10	10	0	55	669	614	.918	2.61	2
2019-20	23	NJD	NHL	47	43	22	14	8	124	1452	1328	.915	2.77	3
2020-21	24	NJD	NHL	35	35	14	17	4	106	1081	975	.902	3.04	1
2021-22	25	NJD	NHL	23	22	9	9	3	70	663	593	.894	3.29	2
Career		4 yrs	NHL	128	121	55	50	15	355	3865	3510	.908	2.91	8

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

JOONAS KORPISALO

The last one on this list that I do not believe will be on the Maple Leafs roster this season is Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 27 years old Joonas is on a contract that has a $2.8 million cap hit and he is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) after the season. This season he is 6-9-0 in 19 GP with a 3.95 G.A.A. and a .883 save %. Over his career, he is 75-65-21 in 179 GP with a 3.01 G.A.A. and a .903 save %. He has a good size and is also a great athlete. Although he is a very talented goalie, he has shown a lot of inconsistent play over his career. Because of that, he has yet to establish himself as a starter in the NHL like he wants to be. With that being said in a tandem style goalie system. He would be a lower addition to the roster than the previous players mentioned but as I said before I do not believe this would be a great fit for the Maple Leafs this season.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2015-16	21	CBJ	NHL	31	30	16	11	4	78	969	891	.920	2.60	0
2016-17	22	CBJ	NHL	14	13	7	5	1	38	401	363	.905	2.88	1
2017-18	23	CBJ	NHL	18	17	8	8	1	58	564	506	.897	3.32	0
2018-19	24	CBJ	NHL	27	21	10	7	3	67	651	584	.897	2.95	0
2019-20	25	CBJ	NHL	37	35	19	12	5	92	1030	938	.911	2.60	2
2020-21	26	CBJ	NHL	33	31	9	13	7	96	904	808	.894	3.30	0
2021-22	27	CBJ	NHL	19	15	6	9	0	68	581	513	.883	3.95	0
Career		7 yrs	NHL	179	162	75	65	21	497	5100	4603	.903	3.01	3

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

Now let’s take a look at some goalies that I do believe could be potentially Maple Leafs at the Trade Deadline.

SEMYON VARLAMOV

33 year old Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders is on a contract with a $5 million cap hit and is an UFA after next season. This season he is 4-12-1 with a 2.85 G.A.A. and a .912 save % behind a very disappointing Islanders team. Over his career he is 255-206-61 in 547 GP with a 2.64 G.A.A. and a .916 save %. His big size helps him cover a lot of the net. His reflexes are also very fast and has good lateral movement in the crease. Even in his 30’s (he is only 2 years younger than me…) he has the ability to carry a team over the top if he has some help in front of him. He thinks he is a better puck handler than he actually is and will sometimes put himself and his team into trouble because of that. He has also battled through injuries in his career. With his contract and cap hit he is a potentially high cost addition to the lineup but because the Islanders have been well below expectations this year he maybe a player that could be included in a package of additions (Zedano Chara and Scott Mayfield come to mind) to potentially make that hit not as bad as if it was just Semyon himself. Kyle Dubas would have to deal with his former boss, and the guy he replace in Lou Lamoriello and his hard negotion style.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2008-09	20	WSH	NHL	6	5	4	0	1	13	159	146	.918	2.37	0
2009-10	21	WSH	NHL	26	23	15	4	6	65	718	653	.909	2.55	2
2010-11	22	WSH	NHL	27	25	11	9	5	58	759	701	.924	2.23	2
2011-12	23	COL	NHL	53	52	26	24	3	136	1564	1428	.913	2.59	4
2012-13	24	COL	NHL	35	33	11	21	3	98	1007	909	.903	3.02	3
2013-14	25	COL	NHL	63	60	41	14	6	146	2013	1867	.927	2.41	2
2014-15	26	COL	NHL	57	57	28	20	8	141	1791	1650	.921	2.56	5
2015-16	27	COL	NHL	57	57	27	25	3	148	1714	1566	.914	2.81	2
2016-17	28	COL	NHL	24	23	6	17	0	76	745	669	.898	3.38	1
2017-18	29	COL	NHL	51	47	24	16	6	128	1595	1467	.920	2.68	2
2018-19	30	COL	NHL	49	49	20	19	9	136	1496	1360	.909	2.87	2
2019-20	31	NYI	NHL	45	39	19	14	6	110	1278	1168	.914	2.62	2
2020-21	32	NYI	NHL	36	35	19	11	4	72	1020	948	.929	2.04	7
2021-22	33	NYI	NHL	19	17	4	12	1	50	568	518	.912	2.85	0
8 yrs		COL	NHL	389	378	183	156	38	1009	11925	10916	.915	2.72	21
3 yrs		WSH	NHL	59	53	30	13	12	136	1636	1500	.917	2.39	4
3 yrs		NYI	NHL	100	91	42	37	11	232	2866	2634	.919	2.45	9
Career		14 yrs	NHL	548	522	255	206	61	1377	16427	15050	.916	2.63	34

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

BRADEN HOLTBY

Next on the list is Stanley Cup Champion Braden Holtby of the Dallas Stars. The 32 years old Holtby is on a contract with a $2 million cap hit and is a UFA after the season. This season he is 10-10 1 in 24 GP with a 2.78 G.A.A. and a .913 save %. Over his career he is 299-143-50 in 513 GP with a 2.59 G.A.A. and a .915 save %. He is a solid veteran presence in the crease that would benefit any team. He has shown that last seasons struggles in Vancouver where just a blimp on his career and was probably because of the issues that Vancouver had that they have improved on with a new coach, GM and front office staff. He is a very quick and confident goalie with a great glove hand. His blocker side is one place he needs some improvement on as he gets beat there too often. He is very athletic goalie who’s lateral movement could use some improvement. He also has some issues with rebound control at various points in the game. He would potentially be not of high of a cost to add to the team since he is a pending UFA after the season. He would bring a Stanley Cup ring to the dressing room of the Maple Leafs and he also backstopped the Capitals over the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2016 NHL playoffs and some currently Maple Leafs were on that team.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2010-11	21	WSH	NHL	14	12	10	2	2	22	332	310	.934	1.79	2
2011-12	22	WSH	NHL	7	6	4	2	1	15	192	177	.922	2.50	1
2012-13	23	WSH	NHL	36	35	23	12	1	90	1123	1033	.920	2.58	4
2013-14	24	WSH	NHL	48	45	23	15	4	126	1475	1349	.915	2.85	4
2014-15	25	WSH	NHL	73	72	41	20	10	157	2044	1887	.923	2.22	9
2015-16	26	WSH	NHL	66	66	48	9	7	141	1802	1661	.922	2.20	3
2016-17	27	WSH	NHL	63	63	42	13	6	127	1690	1563	.925	2.07	9
2017-18	28	WSH	NHL	54	54	34	16	4	153	1648	1495	.907	2.99	0
2018-19	29	WSH	NHL	59	58	32	19	5	160	1795	1635	.911	2.82	3
2019-20	30	WSH	NHL	48	47	25	14	6	142	1385	1243	.897	3.11	0
2020-21	31	VAN	NHL	21	21	7	11	3	77	695	618	.889	3.67	0
2021-22	32	DAL	NHL	24	22	10	10	1	61	700	639	.913	2.78	0
10 yrs		WSH	NHL	468	458	282	122	46	1133	13486	12353	.916	2.53	35
1 yr		VAN	NHL	21	21	7	11	3	77	695	618	.889	3.67	0
1 yr		DAL	NHL	24	22	10	10	1	61	700	639	.913	2.78	0
Career		12 yrs	NHL	513	501	299	143	50	1271	14881	13610	.915	2.59	35

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

CHARLIE LINDGREN

Next up is Charlie Lindgren. The 28 year old is currently on a contract with a $750K cap hit and is a UFA after the season. The 28 year old has played 5 games for the St. Louis Blues this season with a record of 5-0-0 with a 21.22 G.A.A. and a .958 save %. His career NHL totals are 15-12-2 in 29 GP with a 2.74 G.A.A. and a .913 save %. He has spent most of this season playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL where he is 17-3-1 in 23 GP with a 2.26 G.A.A. and a .923 save % (AHL stats from Hockeydb.com). He is a decent size at 6’1″ and has solid fundamentals in the crease. His is also a right handed catching goalie which can throw some NHL players off as they are rare in the NHL. He has become expendable in St. Louis due to the play of Ville HUsso this season and the already established Jordan Binnington( who could potentially be moved instead of Lindgren). Charlie has had a hard time finding a stable job in the NHL but his play this season has earned his the chance to try elsewhere. He would definitely be a low cost add to the team since he has been primarily, and currently, in the AHL.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2015-16	22	MTL	NHL	1	1	1	0	0	2	28	26	.929	2.00	0
2016-17	23	MTL	NHL	2	2	2	0	0	3	59	56	.949	1.48	0
2017-18	24	MTL	NHL	14	14	4	8	2	42	457	415	.908	3.03	2
2018-19	25	MTL	NHL	1	1	1	0	0	5	49	44	.898	4.62	0
2019-20	26	MTL	NHL	6	6	2	4	0	20	178	158	.888	3.33	0
2021-22	28	STL	NHL	5	4	5	0	0	5	118	113	.958	1.22	0
5 yrs		MTL	NHL	24	24	10	12	2	72	771	699	.907	3.00	2
1 yr		STL	NHL	5	4	5	0	0	5	118	113	.958	1.22	0
Career		6 yrs	NHL	29	28	15	12	2	77	889	812	.913	2.74	2

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

ANTON FORSBERG

Lastly on the list we have Anton Forsberg of the Ottawa Senators. The 29 year old is currently on a contract with a $900K cap hit and is a UFA after the season. On the season, before the game on March 12 at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, he is 13-10-2 in 28 GP with a 2.70 G.A.A. and a .921 save %. In his career he is 28-39-7 in 84 GP with a 3.04 G.A.A. and a .909 save %. He has the height at 6’2″ that NHL wants in goalies but at 192 pounds he could stand to add some size to help fill out the net. He is a former 7th round draft pick that has played in the NHL for Columbus, Chicago, Carolina before Ottawa. He has had inconsistent play over his career but he also hasn’t played a steady amount of games to build up momentum throughout the season. He would be a great low cost addition to the tandem of himself with either Campbell or Mrazek. He has a lot of potential and could very well one day be an established NHL starter with more games to play. I think this would potentially be the best fit for the Maple Leafs needs at this moment.

				Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal	Goal
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	GS	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO
2014-15	22	CBJ	NHL	5	5	0	4	0	20	149	129	.866	4.69	0
2015-16	23	CBJ	NHL	4	3	1	3	0	9	97	88	.907	3.03	0
2016-17	24	CBJ	NHL	1	1	0	1	0	4	27	23	.852	4.10	0
2017-18	25	CHI	NHL	35	30	10	16	4	85	921	836	.908	2.97	0
2019-20	27	CAR	NHL	3	3	1	1	0	8	78	70	.897	3.35	0
2020-21	28	OTT	NHL	8	8	3	4	1	24	264	240	.909	3.21	0
2021-22	29	OTT	NHL	28	26	13	10	2	67	844	777	.921	2.70	1
3 yrs		CBJ	NHL	10	9	1	8	0	33	273	240	.879	4.02	0
2 yrs		OTT	NHL	36	34	16	14	3	91	1108	1017	.918	2.82	1
1 yr		CHI	NHL	35	30	10	16	4	85	921	836	.908	2.97	0
1 yr		CAR	NHL	3	3	1	1	0	8	78	70	.897	3.35	0
Career		7 yrs	NHL	84	76	28	39	7	217	2380	2163	.909	3.04	1

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/12/2022.

There was another name that I wanted to add to this list but right now I don’t feel like that would even be a possibility for the Maple Leafs, and that is Marc-Andre Fleury. I would love for Marc-Andre to come to Toronto and be paired with Jack Campbell. They would have the most upbeat smiling goalie tandem in the NHL currently, if not ever with Flower Soup as I would call them. But unfortunately this dream will not happen for Maple Leafs fans.

So there we have it, if the Maple Leafs do add a goalie at the trade deadline don’t be surprised to see one of these names as the one they get. Go Leafs Go!!!!