Highs and Lo-gans (Part 2)

BY HIERONYMOUS MACMILLAN

The second part of our examination of the goaltending situation throughout the LedTasso's regime as general manager for the Maple Leafs.

Joonas Korpisalo
Another piece brought back in the Hellebuyck trade. Brought in as depth option with the possibility that he could develop into something more, like most of the names mentioned in this article, Korpisalo never got much of a chance to prove himself before leaving the organisation. He backed up Blackwood in 21-22 and his numbers weren't inspiring, finishing the year with a 3.00 GAA and .898 SP% in 19 games. 
The decision was made to not sign him at season's end. Since then he signed a 3 year deal in Vancouver where he's been used in mostly a backup role. 

Kaapo Kahkonen
Another project and "goalie of the future" in the eyes of Toronto management. The Leafs scuttled a 3rd, 5th and couple of prospects to Seattle to acquire Kahkonen before the start of the 22-23 season. After beginning the year on a tear with the Marlies, he was brought up to be the starter for the first half of the season until Forsberg was brought in. The results? Pretty good in fairness. 16 wins to go along with a 2.31 GAA and .920 SP% is nothing to scoff at. His reward for his play was beginning 23-24 in the minors and playing 1 game before, you guessed it, being moved out in a trade. While still relatively young at 26, the Leafs would have preferred to keep him in the system, but the move was necessitated by the need to clear cap space to bring in Sam Reinhart in the trade. 

Alex Nedeljkovic
Another goalie, another project. Brought in via trade with the Flames for a 3rd round pick, Nedeljkovic made a grand total of 4 appearances with the Leafs (plus 8 with the Marlies) before being handed his walking papers. Possibly the largest of all the kneejerk goalie trades LedTasso has made, his 3.86 GAA and .875 SP% didn't inspire much hope at the time. He found himself packaged in a deal that saw him sent to the Rangers for defensive help in the form of Marcus Petterson. 

Elvis Merzlikins
Yet another reclamation project. The jury is very much still out on this one. Acquire via trade with the Capitals for Klim Kostin and 2nd round pick, the plan was for Merzlikins and Logan Thompson (more on him in a bit) to battle it out in the crease and see who would be anointed at the Leafs next starter. He didn't get his first start until the 34th game of the season, a 4-3 win against the Hurricanes. He finished the year with a 15-3-4 record in 22 starts to go along with a 2.35 GAA and .912 SP%. The question now though is will the Leafs be able to afford the luxury of paying their backup goalie 4.5 million for 2 more seasons given their cap constraints. 

Logan Thompson
A goalie project and Brandon Wheat King alumni? It's a LedTasso match made in heaven. Likely the biggest of all the goalie gambles the Leafs have made during this regime, Thompson had a lot of hype to live up to going into his first season in the white and blue. Needless to say, he delivered. Although it could be argued he was overworked in the first half of the season after starting the first 33 games of the season, Thompson was great over that stretch. It included a 21 game point streak to start the season to go along with a Leafs record 14 game win streak. He cooled off a bit after that but saw his name atop the Toronto career leaderboard in wins with 34 come seasons end, surpassing the 31 wins that Blackwood had in 21-22. Signed for the next 3 years, Thompson's starter job seems safe for the foreseeable future. Though you never can be too safe in Toronto if you're a goalie. 

This isn't to mention a plethora of other goalies that are still in or have been part of the Leafs goalie pipeline. We can't do a goalie article without giving a huge shoutout to Matiss Kivlenieks. He was involved in the GMLT's 3rd ever trade, a deal that saw Toronto flip Tristan Jarry and a 7th to the Islanders for Jordan Staal, Kivlenieks and prospect Declan Chisholm. Kivlenieks seem poised to move up the Leafs depth chart and left a lasting impression on his teammates and the organisation before his unfortunate passing. 
Dan Vladar and Jaxson Stauber have been sensational in their first seasons with the Marlies, backstopping the team to their first regular season title. 

Last but not least, the goalies who have come and gone with barely a blip on the radar. They may not have played in a game, but you helped keep the bench warm and opened the bench door for the guys. From the likes of Felix Sandstrom to Tommy Nappier, Keith Petruzzelli to Pheonix Copley, and their heir apparents in Dryden McKay and Isaac Poulter. You are all a part of Maple Leaf history one way or another.