Leafs Send New Guy Stalock to the Waiver Wire

Well, that didn’t take long. According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Alex Stalock (part of the return in yesterday’s James Reimer trade with San Jose) is heading to the minors. That is, if he clears waivers.

Stalock, 28, has appeared in 13 games this season. He sports an .884 SV% and a 2.94 GAA, so the AHL definitely seems like the place for him. That said, his career averages (.911 SV%, 2.37 GAA) suggest that Stalock is going through a pretty significant rough patch and could find himself back up with the Leafs at some point this season. It’s more likely, however, that Stalock is here until his contract expires this summer. It really doesn’t matter where he plays, so long as he’s not disrupting the progress of the Leafs’ younger netminders.

In the meantime, Toronto will roll with Jonathan Bernier and Garret Sparks as their goaltending tandem at the NHL level. On yesterday’s media call with Lou Lamoriello following the Reimer deal, the Leafs’ GM suggested that now’s the time Sparks and Antoine Bibeau get more opportunities to show what they got and audition for a full-time NHL job next season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sparks get a number of starts over the next couple weeks and even see Bibeau up at the end of the year for a couple games of his own. If it shakes out like this, it’s hard to imagine Leafs fans see much, if any, of Alex Stalock.