Leafs in dire goaltending situation, price to fix it is extremely high.

In spite of the fact that both Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe have done their best at times to downplay the severity of the crisis they are facing between the pipes, there's no longer any doubt that the Leafs goaltending situation has gotten rather dire.

On Sunday Sheldon Keefe went back to veteran goaltender Petr Mrazek for the Heritage Classic in spite of the fact that Mrazek has looked shaky all season long, and the end result was predictably another lackluster goaltending effort for the Leafs. Mrazek allowed 4 goals on the 37 shots he faced recording an .892 save percentage over the contest, eventually resulting in a 5 - 2 loss for the Leafs against the Buffalo Sabres, who by the way are not a playoff team. In fact the Sabres are a full 26 points out of a playoff spot so the fact that they lit up the Leafs like this in the Heritage Classic, which was held in Hamilton, Ontario Canada, should be a point of real concern.

Following the game Maple Leafs insider James Mirtle Tweeted out a poll in which he asked what fans feel the Leafs should add before the trade deadline, with a whopping 68% of respondents voting for a goaltender at the time of this writing.

That result should come as no surprise given just how bad the Leafs tandem has been since the turn of the calendar year. Leafs reporter Jonas Siegel has pointed out that, of the goaltenders who have played at least 10 games since January 1st of 2022, the Leafs tandem both find themselves in the bottom 6 when it comes to their save percentage.

Campbell has the 2nd lowest save percentage with a .882 behind only veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick. While Mrazek on the other hand has the 6th lowest save percentage with a .885.

 Going out and getting a goaltender, and making him fit under the salary cap, will be easier said than done however. The biggest name out there at the moment is that of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Marc Andre Fleury, a man that National Hockey League insider Pierre LeBrun now argues the Leafs must try and acquire ahead of the trade deadline.

While that may sound great in theory, the cost of acquiring Fleury for the Maple Leafs would likely be extremely high. Once again according to Pierre LeBrun the Leafs would be giving up at minimum a first round draft pick or a first round quality level prospect, with an additional pick coming into play depending on what the Blackhawks would need to take back in order to make the deal work in terms of money on both sides.

The other issue complicating a trade of this nature is the reality of Fleury's play as of late. The Chicago Blackhawks goaltender is having his own struggles with Fleury having given up at least 3 goals in each of his last 6 games. Over that stretch of play he has an .875 save percentage, which isn't exactly much of an upgrade over what the Leafs are currently getting from Mrazek and Campbell.

Desperate times can result in desperation moves, and this is a situation the Leafs will have to navigate very carefully if they don't want to end up looking back on this moment with regret.