MONTREAL — The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a lot salary cap space and have a goaltending problem.
Not only do they have to figure out who their No. 1 goaltender will be for next season as incumbent starter Jack Campbell appears destined to free agent market on July 13, but backup goaltender Petr Mrazek remains under contract for the next two seasons at $3.8 million average annual value.
After an abysmal season in which he posted an .888 save percentage, clearing his contract would have been an easy fix to their salary cap constraints. They placed the Czech goaltender on waivers back in March in an attempt to make space but there were no takers.
It became clear at the time that if the Leafs wanted to unload Mrazek’s contract, that they would have to include a sweetener in some form of deal.
Having had to do that in the past (unloading forward Patrick Marleau’s contract for a first-round pick) the Leafs appear reluctant to do that. In fact, they are still of the mind that a tandem situation works best for their goaltending situation and that can include Mrazek next season.
“I’ve been very happy with Petr and how he’s been in the offseason so far,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Duba …

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Author: David Alter / The Leafs Nation