Friends… Hello… With Freddy Andersen on fire right now, are you worried about burnout?

Absolutely. Because I’ll be at his game December 27th for the Athletic and there’s no way I’ll be allowed to have nice things (aka a killer Andersen performance). He’s gonna start regressing that week. Probably that game.

I won’t say it hasn’t been on my mind. With Andersen starting in nearly every game like it’s 1998 again, I’m not sure he could ever physically keep up with the demands of the entire season, especially when considering how many shots the Leafs have been allowing. Lucky for the Leafs, they’ve got a goalie who’s putting up video-game calibre numbers in the AHL right now, and his game isn’t even Calvin Pickard. It’s time to lighten Andersen’s load to reduce the burden on his body. They’ve got the talent to do so.

Andersen has been a dream, but I can’t say I’m worried about overplaying him (yet). I am all for playing the hell out of Andersen up until the All-Star break, maybe the trade deadline if exhaustion hasn’t set in yet. Get as much hockey as you can out of him in that time frame and just let McElhinney pick up the second half of the back to backs. The trade deadline aspect is important because that’s the ideal time to waive McElhinney and to call up Calvin Pickard and finally learn what the Leafs have in him. Let him work in rotation with Andersen the rest of the way. Don’t let Andersen get too cold, but don’t overwork him and let his body heal for when the Leafs will need him in the spring. You’ll notice I said that call up Pickard over Sparks, my reasoning here is entirely based in the fact that Pickard is a free agent this summer and a decision needs to be made on him. Sparks is will get his shot soon enough. Also I think Pickard is far superior.

I wouldn’t be concerned about burn-out if the Leafs were comfortable moving on from McElhinney. It’s a weird situation because they constantly start Andersen, seemingly because they aren’t comfortable giving McElhinney anything more than back-to-back games, yet they won’t bring up the younger and clearly more talented goalies from the AHL, Sparks and Pickard. Either the Leafs are trying too hard to respect the veteran, or they aren’t concerned with rest, or it’s some combination of both. No reasonable person could suggest that Sparks and Pickard haven’t done enough to show they’re ready for NHL time. Some time this season either Sparks or Pickard will have to come up to give Andersen some rest. Perhaps an opportunity will arise where a 3rd goalie can be called up because a forward is on the IR, and then the call-up can start with McElhinney as backup, and Andersen gets the night off.

I’m not super concerned yet, because this is exactly what happened last year, and aside from the occasional bad game or slow start, he didn’t really burn out last year. I’m cool with having McElhinney as the back up this year because then this gives Sparks and Pickard more playing time in the minors. I’d rather them be a 1A/1B in the AHL, then one of them come up and barely play. Hopefully next year, the Leafs will call up one of them, and they’ll be good enough to lighten the load for Freddy next year. The Leafs aren’t expected to make a big cup run this year, so I’m not too worried if he burns out this season

I am worried about burnout – a modern day NHL starting goalie really should play about 60 games with a decent back up picking up the rest. The wider answer to this question is why they are persisting with McElhinney. The Leafs have two goalies in the AHL who I think are NHL ready yet we continue to stick with the one of the weakest back ups in the league.

One thing must be said though, Freddie is playing wonderfully at the moment and I think if you are feeling it and playing well then you want to play every game. A back up sometimes is needed when your starter is struggling, Anderson will need some help soon and I am sure by then Babs will be going with one of Pickard or Sparks.

It seems likely that in order to suppress Freddie’s insane usage numbers in advance of what the team hopes will be a lengthy playoff run, Pickard or Sparks (or both?) will get a decent amount of starts as the calendar hits 2018. Then again, though, this is the most road-heavy portion of the Leafs’ schedule, with plenty of travel and compact games, and they’re just rolling right along with Andersen. The important thing though is that he’s banking points for them now – points that give them cushion and could allow the Leafs to spell Freddie later if need be. For now, he’s healthy (despite Matthew Tkachuk’s best efforts), he’s on a rampage, and he’s the backbone of the team. My guess is the Leafs ride this for as long as they can, and then ease him down to a lower start rate before any drastic burnout can happen.

I’m not concerned about burn-out just yet, and I think Freddie’s enjoying winning too much to be worried about it (see victory fist pump from Calgary game). I would continue with Freddie at least until the all-star break. That’s when I would like to see our backup start more games. Will it still be McElhinney? I was almost certain he would have done his best Enroth impression by now. I think it’s only a matter of time before Pickard or Sparks are lightening the load on Andersen.