If Laurent Brossoit ends up being Toronto’s answer to solidifying the crease this summer, Brad Treliving and company would be making a colossal mistake.
And it’s not because the 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent doesn’t have game. In fact, he has plenty of it. The bigger issue at play here is the fact that if acquired, the Leafs organization would be taking yet another chance on someone who has no track record as a No. 1 in the NHL.
Plain and simple, it reeks of Jonathan Bernier all over again.
Any way you slice it, the Leafs need to aim higher than another guy with “potential,” especially when factoring in Joseph Woll’s unfortunate injury history over the past few seasons. Translation: He’s far from a sure bet, so there’s no way you can obtain someone similar in status.
The cost may wind up being unpleasant but there’s no way Toronto can leave the summer of 2024 without finding a major solution to their goaltending needs. The position has been plaguing the organization for far too long for them to cave and add yet another stop-gap guy.
On Monday, The Athletic’s James Mirtle disclosed that the Leafs and Brossoit, who’s slated to become a UFA on July 1, reportedly have mutual interest. Considering the former needs a goalie and the latter is searching for a bigger opportunity, a potential partnership makes a lot of sense. That said, from the Maple Leafs perspective, there’s no way Brossoit should be the No. 1 target. He’s a good fallback option if they can’t close on the likes of Jacob Markstrom, Linus Ullmark, Filip Gustavsson, and Juuse Saros, among others —that’s it, that’s all.
In 23 regular season appearances behind Connor Hellebuyck this year, the B.C. native, who made $1.75 million, tallied a 15-5-2 record to go along with a 2.00 goals-against, .927 save percentage, and three shutouts.
When push comes to shove, it’s time for the Leafs to start investing some extra money in between the pipes. Luckily, with a few contracts coming off the books and a Mitch Marner trade potentially in sight, the team could finally be in a better position to reallocate some dollars. They need to find a way to be less top heavy and more well-rounded.
