Leafs linked to goalie Scott Darling

This just in, the Toronto Maple Leafs have officially called up forward Nic Petan and goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

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In case you missed the news yesterday, the Leafs placed goaltender Michael Hutchinson on waivers. This obviously leaves a hole in the team’s backup goaltending position, but the hope is that Kaskisuo can step in and give it a shot. The 26 year old Kaskisuo has played eight games for the Marlies this season and has put up an impressive .928 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average. He has yet to play an NHL game in his four year pro career, but has performed admirably over the past two seasons with the Marlies.

One option the Leafs looked at in advance of waiving Hutchinson is/was former Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Scott Darling. NHL insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the Leafs “reached out” to Darling, but Darling opted to take his game to Europe.

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It’s unclear whether this means Darling is out of the picture, or if he’s merely finding his game in Austria in advance of a move to the Leafs.

For what it’s worth, Darling had an absolutely horrific stint with the Hurricanes the past two seasons. Last season, he managed just eight games with the team and put up a dreadful 3.34 goals against average and .884 save percentage. Ouch.

In 2017-18, Darling put up a 3.18 goals against average and .888 save percentage. Double ouch.

Darling was bought out of his four year, $16.6 million contract this past summer after the Hurricanes shipped his contract off to the Florida Panthers. 

With the Blackhawks, Darling established himself as one of the strongest backup goalies in the NHL and was even instrumental in the team’s 2015 Stanley Cup championship, playing in five playoff games while starter Corey Crawford struggled. That season Darling put up a sparkling 1.92 goals against average and .936 save percentage. 

Could the former Blackhawks and Hurricanes goalie could find himself back in the NHL backing up Freddie Andersen? Stay tuned, Leafs fans.