The Toronto Maple Leafs may look for a reliable goaltender this off-season with two of their netminders hitting free agency. Here's the latest speculation.
Joseph Woll is under contract for next season, but Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones are not.The most recent Toronto Maple Leafs trade speculation focused on whether they'll move forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares. What's been overlooked is their lack of reliable goaltending depth for next season.
Joseph Woll is the only goalie under contract with the Leafs for next season. He's also got an injury history that GM Brad Treliving hopes to address by looking at his off-season training.
Martin Jones and Ilya Samsonov are slated to become UFAs on July 1. The 27-year-old Samsonov indicated his willingness to return with the Leafs, but Treliving could instead explore this summer's trade and free-agent markets for help.
The Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan acknowledged the Leafs have promising Dennis Hildeby in their system. He believes the 22-year-old Marlies netminder will get a chance to prove himself in training camp this fall but doesn't see the Leafs going into next season with a Woll-Hildeby tandem.
There are no reliable starters in this summer's free-agent market. Koshan pointed out the notable options include Laurent Brossoit of the Winnipeg Jets, Anthony Stolarz of the Florida Panthers, Kevin Lankinen of the Nashville Predators, Alex Nedeljkovic of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Scott Wedgewood of the Dallas Stars.
The Hockey News' Spencer Lazary noted that Cam Talbot is also UFA-eligible. However, Treliving could prefer someone younger than the 36-year-old Los Angeles Kings goalie.
Better options could be found in the trade market. In March, we listed Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators and Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins as summer trade candidates.
Landing one of them, however, will be expensive in return and salary. Markstrom has two years remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6 million. Ullmark and Saros each have a year left with a cap hit of $5 million. Saros is the only one lacking no-trade protection.
The Hockey News' Sammi Silber recently noted that speculation continues to swirl around Darcy Kuemper of the Washington Capitals. The 34-year-old has struggled since joining the Capitals as a free agent two years ago. He's got three years left with a $5.25-million cap hit.
Kuemper wouldn't be as expensive to acquire as Markstrom, Ullmark or Saros. However, his subpar numbers and age aren't likely to draw Treliving's interest.