There’s not going to be a lot of heartbreak over Cayden Primeau being claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes. Primeau was a Cane first, they wanted him back and as long as the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t interfere (they probably won’t) he’ll soon be assigned to their AHL affiliate.
The imminent return of Joseph Woll sparked the waivers decision and realistically there isn’t much of a place for Primeau on the Leafs or the Marlies when Stolarz/Woll and Dennis Hildeby/Artur Akhtyamov are healthy.
The thing is, goalies don’t stay healthy and a fifth option at some point could make sense. The Leafs have that with Slava Peksa assuming they are comfortable with bumping everyone up the depth chart. Then there is no real issue, and Dennis Hildeby will be the third string option unless Artur Akhtyamov makes a better case for the gig. The catch there is if the Leafs don’t want Hildeby or Akhtyamov in the NHL this season at all they might want to find another option elsewhere.
Here are three options that can accomplish that.
Revisit James Reimer
Let’s get the silliest option out of way first and dismiss it. There is no payoff from bringing in James Reimer. He’s a desperation stopgap and the Leafs aren’t in that situation. They might get there. I mean, the Leafs were in a situation a few years back where they had to sign Keith Petruzzelli to an NHL contract, so maybe this happens.
Wait for waivers
The Vegas Golden Knights and the Buffalo Sabres are two examples of teams carrying a surplus of goaltenders in the NHL and there is a strong possibility that someone worth using could come available from one of those clubs.
Akira Schmid is the name to watch on the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Buffalo Sabres seem to be doing everything they can protect Colten Ellis, making him an ideal target. Whether any of these goaltenders find their way to the point where a Leafs claim can be made remains to be seen and claiming a goaltender would require the Leafs potentially carrying three netminders, which, given their current depth situation, isn’t ideal. But, bringing a young netminder with upside into the fold has some appeal and is likely why the Leafs gave Primeau a look in the first place.
The Sabres also have Alexandar Georgiev in the AHL, and they’ve been looking to move him. Perhaps there’s an AHL trade where to be made where the Leafs can gain a bit of cap space back sending out Matt Benning. But, even outside of that, Georgiev has been playing in Reimer/Primeau territory over the past season and he’s not worth the trouble.
Two birds, one stone
David Kampf wants out of Toronto. The Leafs might want a third string goaltender. A solution might be dealing for expensive third string goaltenders on teams that could possibly use a bottom six centre.
The Ducks have Ville Husso. The Blue Jackets have Ivan Fedotov (although he’s certainly on the expensive side), and once Brossoit is healthy for the Blackhawks, Arvid Soderblom will potentially be available as well. Given his past in Chicago, the Blackhawks might have interest in Kampf. It still seems most likely that Kampf will eventually accept contract termination and sort his future out himself.
As for the Leafs goaltending situation, there isn’t much rush in figuring things out. Hildeby may get the start on Sunday after some work on Saturday night, but after that, Woll will likely return before a starter other than Stolarz is required again. A Hildeby start might also determine how interested the Leafs are in presently considering him their third guy and while not a pressing thing, perhaps Brad Treliving sees a benefit in gaining back a contract space.
There is a benefit in being proactive about addressing the position as another long-term departure for either Stolarz or Woll poses a risk for the Leafs season ,and if both are down at the same time, the Leafs might wish they had more NHL experience in their goaltending depth chart.
Primeau might not exactly be missed but with a tandem that has a hard time accounting for all 82 games, a third string option for the Leafs seems like a practical area to address.
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