No talks between the Maple Leafs and Andersen
There haven’t been any talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Frederik Andersen.
The obvious options are to sign him to an extension this offseason, trade him this offseason or let him play out the year and let him walk, talking the cap space.
The Maple Leafs and Penguins didn’t bring up Matt Murray when discussing Kasperi Kapanen.
The Maple Leafs trading Andersen would depend on the offers.
If the Maple Leafs were to move Andersen …
Shawn Simpson: If the Maple Leafs moved Andersen, trading for Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes would make sense on several levels. Kuemper has two years left on his deal at a $4.5 million cap hit.
Some potential options in net for the Maple Leafs
James Mirtle of The Athletic: Some teams are saying Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen is on the trade market, and that they are looking to gain some cap flexibility if they moved him.
Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas may be thinking they can get a good asset(s) for Andersen, and go the free agent or trade route to replace him. Looking at some potential goaltenders that may be available this offseason that the Maple Leafs might have interest in.
Try to add a better goalie at a similar salary – Robin Lehner and Darcy Kuemper.
Try to add a similar goalie at a lesser salary – Anton Khudobin, Corey Crawford, Tomas Greiss, and Alexandar Georgiev.
Gamble on a goaltender to rebound and surprise – Braden Holtby, Matt Murray, Joonas Korpisalo, Devan Dubnyk and Mikko Koskinen
There is no guarantee the Leafs trade Andersen. Do believe that the Leafs have interest in Lehner and could be in the mix for him if he goes to free agency.
With the goalie market looking crowded this offseason, acquiring prices could be lower than one would expect. The Leafs don’t want to be a position where they take a step backward in net next season.