Jett Alexander was happy enough to put on the Toronto Maple Leafs sweater and sit on the bench. The U of T goaltender came on for the final 70 seconds of Toronto’s 7-1 win against Montreal.

Jett Alexander was thrilled just to sit on the Toronto Maple Leafs bench.

Signed to an amateur tryout to back up goaltender Ilya Samsonov, Alexander made his NHL debut when he was inserted into the game to play the final 1:10 of play while the Leafs were leading the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 7-1.

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"Being a Leafs fan for a very long time, pretty special when you get to put that jersey on, The University of Toronto goaltender said. "Just to be out there and sitting on bench, taking it all in was a dream come true, honestly."

The 23-year-old who grew up in Bloomfield, Ontario didn't face a single shot on goal. But he has the memory. His No. 40 jersey is his to keep. He joked got word on Saturday that he'd be needed to backup Ilya Samsonov in a bizarre series of moves that appeared to be motivated by salary-cap management reasons.

"First thing (I was thinking) was hopefully they win the D-zone draw and then get the puck out and then nothing comes at me," Alexander said about the experience. "It was pretty nerve-wracking, obviously, but something I’ll remember."

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game that it was not his decision to put Alexander into the game and that the word came down from above him with about 30 seconds to go before the whistle. 

It wasn't enough time for the Canadiens to register a single shot on goal, so Alexander's experience was untested.

Would he have liked to face a shot?

"Yeah, from the blue line, maybe, with no traffic just to get that one," Alexander said, ": Whether you get a shot or not, whatever it is, it’s 70 seconds on the ice so it’s a game played in the NHL so pretty cool." 

Alexander will get to keep his No. 40 sweater he wore the game. He said he'll likely get it framed and pose in a photo with former University of Toronto teammate Alex Bishop, who dressed as a backup for a Maple Leafs game against the Ottawa Senators in October of 2001.

An English major at U of T and has four exams remaining before finishing the academic year. He kept his phone in airplane mode before the game and had a chance to re-active it when he got back to the dressing room.

He said he’s going to spend all of Sunday going through the messages.

“(It’s) something I can have under my belt forever,” Alexander said.

Alexander almost went in earlier

In the second period, Ilya Samsonov appeared to injure himself while defending a 2-on-1, jamming his leg against the post.

"You know, like, Sammy's never break. Everybody knows this," Samsonov said. "It's OK. I feel good. Just a little bit squeeze and feel like tight, but nothing crazy."

Samsonov spoke with Maple Leafs head athletic trainer Paul Ayotte during the next TV timeout. During the second intermission, Samsonov was examined further but remained in the game until 18:50 of the second period to make way for Alexander's debut.

"I’m so happy for him. Great to see this moment," Samsonov said of Alexander."First NHL game, doesn’t matter it one minute, but big for him. He come to the rink to probably sit on the bench, but he has the time for play. Thank you team, we got a chance for another dream in the world."

Canadiens' Wideman sour on Alexander move

Not everybody loved Alexander getting into the game. Montreal Canadiens defenseman Chris Wideman was particularly sour about the experience.

"They'll get what they deserve in a few weeks," Wideman told the Toronto Star's Kevin McGran, making a direct reference to Toronto's playoffs which will begin in mid-April.

It was a particularly sour response from a club that will not be in the playoffs and played particularly poorly against a Maple Leafs club that rested defensemen Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie.

Why Alexander was signed to an ATO by the Maple Leafs

Earlier in the day, the Maple Leafs indicated that they had hoped Matt Murray would have been healthy enough to back up Samsonov on Saturday but that they had to consult with the medical staff as that plan had changed.

On Friday night, the Maple Leafs opted to send Joseph Woll down to the Marlies and called up Wayne Simmonds. Given that Woll had been sent down, the Leafs were in an emergency situation after calling up Simmonds. Calle Jarnkrok was also not available to the Leafs as he is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

By signing Alexander, the Leafs were able to technically play short in the position and will now have some room in their cap to sign University of Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Matthew Knies, whose season ended in the championship game after a 3-2 overtime loss to Quinnipiac University Bobcats.

If the Leafs are now in a situation where they can call up Woll under the emergency exception while signing Knies to a contract and adding him to the roster and sending Simmonds down if the club chooses to go that route.

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