John Chayka traded Joseph Woll and left the Maple Leafs with a question. Who's the number one goalie now? The possibilities are wide open.
Dealing Woll to Philadelphia made the crease an immediate priority. Chayka has a starter to find, and not much time to do it.
Chris McCluskey sees a move coming. He noted Chayka has a history of acquiring goalies, dealing for Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta back in Arizona, even if the exact plan isn't clear yet.
The names are starting to surface. Juuse Saros in Nashville has come up in waves, though he holds a full no-move clause that complicates everything.
There are bigger swings on the board, too.
McCluskey laid out the menu of options.
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The options range from a blockbuster to staying in-house
Start at the top. Connor Hellebuyck at $8.5 million in Winnipeg is the dream swing, an elite number one. Saros, at $7.74 million, is the other established starter, but the no-trade clause is a real wall.
Then there's the value-and-risk tier. Per McCluskey, Sergei Bobrovsky and his $10 million hit in Florida wouldn't cost assets, but he's over the hill. That's a short-term stopgap, not a long-term fix.
The cheapest path is staying in-house. As Jen wondered, does Chayka have enough confidence in Stolarz and Hildeby to ride it out? The Woll trade made that question urgent.
That's the spectrum. A blockbuster, a bargain on an aging veteran, or trusting what's already on the roster.
The Chayka factor tilts it. Fans like Sunny have praised him for diving straight in rather than sitting on his hands, and his Arizona goalie history suggests he won't settle for the status quo in net.
Here's my read: the smart bet is that Chayka adds a goalie. The track record and the Woll trade both point that way. Standing pat with the kids would be the real surprise.
Whether it's a blockbuster like Hellebuyck or Saros, or a cheaper gamble on Bobrovsky, comes down to price and those no-trade clauses. None of these paths is simple.
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So the goalie decision is the next big domino in Toronto. Chayka cleared the deck and has shown he'll move.
Which tier he picks tells you how hard he's pushing this window, especially with the Matthews question hanging over everything. The answer is coming soon.
Which path should Chayka take in net?
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