The Maple Leafs created more salary cap space and dumped a problematic contractor and all it cost them was 13 spots in the NHL Draft order.
MONTREAL — The Maple Leafs moved the entirety of Petr Mrazek’s onerous contract on Thursday. And all it cost them was 13 positions in the draft.
As first reported by DailyFaceoff.com’s Frank Seravalli, The 30-year-old Czech goaltender was moved to the Chicago Blackhawks along with the 25th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft in exchange for the 38th overall pick.
Mrazek, who had a no-trade clause in his contract worked with the Maple Leafs to ensure a trade could happen anywhere, according to Seravalli. That allowed Leafs GM Kyle Dubas to open up an additional $3.8 million in salary-cap space as they look to bolster their goaltending heading into the off-season.
Mrazek posted an .888 save percentage in his only season with the Maple Leafs, despite posting a 12-6-0 record. Signed by Dubas to a three-year, $11.4 million contract back in July, the Leafs GM indicated on Wednesday that he was happy with how the Czech goaltender was working to regain his form in the offseason.
The Blackhawks bought it, hook, line and sinker.
With incumbent starter Jack Campbell seemingly set to test the free agent market on July 13, Toronto has approximately $10.2 million in salary cap space to try fill a hole for a new starting netminder, a potential backup, plus restricted free agent forwards Pierre Engvall, Ondrej Kase and defenceman Rasmus Sandin.
The goalie market changed a lot on Thursday. Veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury re-signed with the Minnesota Wild for two more seasons, while the Colorado Avalanche seemingly moved on from Darcy Kuemper but acquiring the rights to Alexandar Georgiev.
What happens in goal will be anyones guess. But there seems to be some clarity after Dubas’ move on Thursday.