Vegas Wants to Trade. I Want to Speculate
By Jon Steitzer
6 years agoThe first thing you should do after the Leafs win a game 7-2 is start thinking about what players you should trade away.
Wait, that’s in no way true, and the Leafs have a very good roster that doesn’t need a whole lot done to it. In fact, while defense may not be a point of strength on the roster, it’s still a group of six or seven, possibly eight or nine individuals I am very comfortable seeing fit into the lineup. To be clear up front, I like the Leafs roster.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s look at the garage sale that is the Vegas Golden Knights roster. The way the roster is sitting right now, they have 3 goaltenders, 9 defensemen, and 11 forwards. I don’t pretend to be an expert on hockey, but that doesn’t look like a standard NHL lineup.
Fuel has been thrown on the fire by Bob McKenzie this morning, and that’s why you’re having to deal with my trade post…
Two things immediately come to mind when I see this.
First, Colin Miller probably isn’t going anywhere, at least not until the trade deadline and that’s a little disappointing. So that scraps the main target I would have had on the Knights. Nate Schmidt is pretty great too, but I’ve always assumed he’s untouchable.
Second, Calvin Pickard IS available and that’s someone the Leafs should definitely have interest in. Not that backup goaltending needs to be a significant priority for the Leafs, but I will say that most of my bad dreams about the Leafs this season involve an injury to Freddy Andersen and having to watch Curtis McElhinney and Garret Sparks split the net.
Reasons to like Pickard…
As always, I yield most of goaltending analysis to the expertise of Cat Silverman, this time in the form of an article she wrote on him following the World Hockey Championships...
At even strength, Pickard finished his 2016-17 season with a 0.913 save percentage, sitting a good leap above his numbers when special teams were factored in.In a league-wide comparison, his even-strength numbers were still toward the bottom.Compared to his own starter, though, Pickard held the clear advantage. Through 24 games before going down with injury, former Vezina Trophy finalist Semyon Varlamov boasted just a 0.902 save percentage in 5-on-5 situations.Pickard was the only one of Colorado’s four goaltenders to appear in net during the season and finish with an unadjusted save percentage above 0.900; at even strength, he was the only one to even reach 0.910. Spencer Martin put up an 0.867 save percentage at even strength through three games, and Jeremy Smith sat just above the 0.900 marker through 10 appearances.
Okay, this may not sound ideal, but please consider that last season’s Avalanche team was historically bad and how much better Pickard fared than Varlamov. He did have a much better World Hockey Championship…
Pickard walked away from the tournament with just 11 goals allowed across seven appearances for Team Canada, boasting a 0.938 save percentage in all situations, chipping in with one shutout to boot. He collected five wins and just one loss outside of the gold medal game, standing in the crease for just under three quarters of Canada’s performances during the tournament.For Team Canada, a silver medal is a bit of a letdown after back-to-back golds. For Pickard, though, finishing second in the international tournament is a major bright spot in a miserable year.
Take that for what it is, and the fact that Canada can put together a pretty solid team. Also consider that he was behind a team that had never played together and these tournaments can look like an all offense, no system game of shinny. Those tend to make goaltenders numbers a little worse, and it wasn’t the case here.
Additionally, Pickard is a 25 year old at the prime of his career, who looks like at the very least he’s a capable NHL backup. I can see why the Golden Knights would want to swing for the fences with Malcolm Subban, especially with Oscar Dansk in the pipeline as well, but what they’d be giving up with Pickard is definitely a potential upgrade over what the Leafs have in their system.
I’m not going to say that Calvin Pickard will be or is better than Frederik Andersen, just that when you look at the numbers Pickard and Andersen align a lot more closely than Pickard aligns with either Sparks or McElhinney.
The downside to Pickard, at least in the eyes of the Leafs, is probably that Pickard is only 6’1. The Leafs like big goaltenders. A lot of teams like big goaltenders, and while this isn’t a huge difference like it was with having the 5’10 Enroth in net, if Pickard’s style of play doesn’t align with what Steve Briere is teaching, this is probably a hard pass for them.
What Vegas Will Want
In short, Vegas should want forwards and the Leafs have plenty to offer up. Since the goaltending trade market is far from anything to be excited about, it’s also unlikely that they’d have to give up much in order to land Pickard, but it may have to be better than the preferred bundle of crap we’d be inclined to give.
The first name that comes to mind is Eric Fehr, who you could argue as player who is viewed as part of a bundle of crap. The Golden Knights are light on forwards, and this is a forward that George McPhee is familiar with and used for a number of years. Fehr sticking around with the Leafs seems like it may have been part of showcasing him for some future deal, and admittedly I’d be excited for his departure because it would open the door for Aaltonen joining the Leafs.
Kerby Rychel and Josh Leivo are the other two names that come to mind as potential Vegas offerings, if they are preferring a youth movement rather than bringing in an experienced NHLer. Vegas had a chance at both of these two in the expansion draft (along with Fehr) but wisely chose Leipsic over them. Anyway, what I’m getting at is Pickard should not cost the Leafs Kapanen, or even Johnsson or Soshnikov. This should be about offering them a forward they can use now in exchange for a goaltender they don’t need and the chance to be one step closer to icing an NHL roster. If that isn’t enough there’s always the option of slapping a late round pick on the deal.
Is There Anyone Else On Vegas the Leafs Should Want?
Probably not, at least no one they can have until the trade deadline. Vegas probably wants to ice something close to a real team for at least part of the season so they can build their audience. The novelty wears off pretty quickly when you’re just watching Luca Sbisa skate around for 30 minutes a night. They are only going to deal who they have to deal at this point, and Pickard is the most attractive option there unless you are one of those rare people who thinks highly of Griffin Reinhart. It’s best to think small now and wait for the chance to add Colin Miller or Jonathan Marchessault at the trade deadline.
Do I Think Pickard Will Become a Leaf?
Probably not, but I definitely think it is an idea worth entertaining. The backup situation and NHL calibre goaltending depth on the Leafs has a pretty steep drop off after Andersen, and compared to recent goaltenders put on waivers (Subban, Binnington, and Berube) I’d say that Pickard is the best option and he’d give the Leafs an opportunity to clear out a contract in the process.
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