A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Ranking The Canadian Division’s Goaltenders

By Ken MacMillan

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Carey Price Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 12: Carey Price Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 8
Next
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 06: Frederik Andersen (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 06: Frederik Andersen (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

Frederik Andersen and Jack Campbell

The Toronto Maple Leafs paid a heavy price to acquire Frederik Andersen four years ago but he was remarkably consistent for his first three seasons in Toronto. His SV% for each of those three years was .918, .918 and then .917. The Leafs also consistently lost in the first round of the playoffs those years but it hardly seems necessary to take a shot at them for that right now…

Andersen’s play dipped a bit last season as he posted the worst numbers of his Maple Leafs career. His GAA was 2.85 and his SV% dropped slightly to .909. He has consistently been a top ten goaltender in the league during his stint with the Leafs, but never quite good enough to be a  Vezina Trophy finalist.

At 31 years old and heading into a contract year, Andersen should have another strong season in 2021.

His backup will be Jack Campbell who only played six games with the Leafs last season but proved to be a huge upgrade on Michael Hutchinson. Campbell was a high draft pick but took a long time to become a full-time NHL goalie. His first full season was with the Los Angeles Kings in 2018-19 as he put up a 2.30 GAA and a .928 SV%. He followed that up with a more pedestrian 2.85 GAA and .900 SV% before the Leafs dealt for him.

If he played like he did in 2018-19, the Leafs have a tremendous tandem. If he puts up numbers like he did with the Kings last season, he might not be able to shoulder enough of a load to give Andersen sufficient rest.

Home/Editorials