Leafs could look to the waiver wire to solve their goaltending issues.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have an opportunity to solve their backup goaltending issues, but it's not without some risk.

On Monday it was announced that the Columbus Blue Jackets had placed 33-year-old veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney on waivers, this despite the fact that McElhinney was having one of the better seasons of his career as an NHL backup.

The positives are obvious, the Leafs have struggled to find a suitable backup for Frederik Andersen who's performance has been much improved since his slow start this season, and as a result he has been forced to take on a very heavy load of games, on pace to eclipse his previous career high. McElhinney is only under contract for this season, and comes in at $800,000 against the cap, the Leafs would have roughly $400,000 in cap space remaining should they add his contract to the books.

The timing however is poor, the Leafs appear to be taking a long hard look at the solid performances of 22-year-old Antoine Bibeau in the backup role this season, however it's obvious that this is not a long-term solution for the club, at least not yet. 

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Of course this is merely speculation, and the Leafs may not even consider McElhinney as a viable option, but we assume they have down their due diligence and will at least take a look at the possibility.