Leafs still on the market for goalie following Thursday’s loss

Devan Dubnyk was solid in net as the Minnesota Wild down the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Thursday afternoon. This has reminded Leafs fans - and their head coach Mike Babcock - that the team might still be in the market for a goaltender. 

With No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen and backup Garret Sparks out injured, Michael Hutchinson made his Leafs debut, and while it started out great with Toronto taking the early lead, it did not end with the victory. 

Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star strongly believes that, following Babcock’s comments after the 4-3 loss, that the Leafs will be making another move to improve in between the pipes. Sure GM Kyle Dubas made the right move by acquiring Hutchinson from the Florida Panthers and calling up Kasimir Kaskisuo, but Zwolinski reports another move might be on the way. He believes the Maple Leafs would prefer returning Kaskisuo to the minors, which could put them in the market for another goalie with NHL experience.

“I don’t know what’s going on, we were just talking about maybe finding another goalie,” said Babcock. “We’d like (Kaskisuo) to get playing, we don’t want him to be sitting around. So maybe we’ve got to find another goalie and go from there.”

Hutchinson appears to be the leading candidate to start Saturday against Vancouver as Andersen appears to needing more time with his injury. While the Leafs might be getting ready to face the Vancouver Canucks with Hutchinson in net on Saturday, it could always change, especially if the Leafs pull off a trade in between the pipes. 

As for the newly-acquired veteran goalie, he did admit that he was nervous for his first contest in the Leafs’ uniform. 

“When I got traded here, I hoped for a chance to play for the Leafs.

“Growing up just north of here, it was really exciting to get my first game, but it makes you hungry to get more and get the first win and go from there.”

It could be different on Saturday as the jitters are finally out of the way? We will see…