Brad Treliving should steer clear of the free-agent goaltending market

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving needs to find Joseph Woll a goaltending partner. Considering the talent available on the free-agent market, Treliving should strongly consider the trade route instead.

Toronto believes in Woll and are working with the 25-year-old netminder to build a creative offseason training program so he can stay healthy next season. The former third-round pick has battled injury troubles throughout his young career and still needs to prove he can handle the workload of a No. 1 goalie — he was a rookie last year with 25 appearances.

As a No. 1 starter, it’s likely Woll would be in line for around 50 starts, so it will be best to find him a tandem partner who can split the crease essentially in half. The tandem approach worked just fine for the Boston Bruins last season and should be how the Maple Leafs are set up next year.

Treliving has almost $20 million in cap space to work with this summer, however with a stern focus on signing two top-caliber defensemen and potentially re-signing one of Max Domi or Tyler Bertuzzi, it could make more sense to pull off a ‘hockey trade’ and re-allocate some resources to secure some goaltending depth.

The free-agent market is uber-thin with goaltending talent who can push Woll next season. Cam Talbot led all pending free agents with 27 wins but he showed in the playoffs that a long season can wear on a 36-year-old netminder. Treliving should take a pass.

There’s also Alex Nedeljkovic, Anthony Stolarz and Laurent Brossoit who all had strong seasons as backups, but again, career backups who aren’t used to carrying a hefty workload. With Woll’s injury concerns and the necessity to have some starting experience and stability in net, Treliving needs to look the other way. All three would be very risky additions and at this point, the Leafs need to limit the risk involved as much as possible, and secure some proven durability in their crease.

The Maple Leafs have some trade assets. They have their first-round pick, which currently sits at No. 23 overall. They could dangle this in a trade to land a goaltender with some term on their contract. There’s also Nick Robertson who could be looked at as a prime trade candidate this summer. He’s asked for a change of scenery in the past and with the likes of Matthew Knies, Bobby McMann, potentially one of Domi or Bertuzzi returning and Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten on the way, Robertson could be stuck in a numbers game once again for minutes. In a package he could help fetch some proven NHL talent.

Another trade asset could be Timothy Liljegren. It’s been reported the Leafs and Liljegren’s camp have yet to speak this summer on an extension so as a pending restricted free agent, could become a part of trade discussions. The former first-round pick still has some upside and after playing for Sheldon Keefe for so long is likely looking forward to a fresh voice behind the bench. The thing is, the free-agent market is littered with talented right-handed defensemen so Treliving could easily replace Liljegren’s minutes with a fresh face this summer.

So far throughout the 2024 NHL offseason there’s been the likes of the New Jersey Devils stating they’re looking for a goaltender and are open to moving the No. 10 overall pick. There’s also the Calgary Flames who have Jacob Markstrom on the trade market and are open to making a trade if it makes sense for Markstrom and the organization. The Los Angeles Kings are looking for a starter, meanwhile the Nashville Predators are trying hard to re-sign Juuse Saros, but if those talks go south, there could be a big-name Vezina-caliber starter available on the trade market.

Treliving is going to have options. The options on the trade market are much more suited for the Maple Leafs’ needs. Toronto’s GM needs to hit the free-agent market hard for defensemen and another depth forward, but he shouldn’t be interested in signing any of the pending free-agent goaltenders.