Leafs Finally Sign a Backup Goalie

The Toronto Maple Leafs found their starting goaltender earlier this off-season when they acquired Frederick Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks, and now Toronto has found the man to back him up.

Jhonas Enroth will share the goaltending duties with Andersen next season after he signed a one-year, $750,000 contract.

Enroth was the backup to Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings last season. He played in 16 games, while starting 13 of them. He was 7-5-1 with a 2.17 goals against average to go with a .922 save percentage. The 2.17 goals against average was the lowest of his career while his .922 save percentage set a career high. The Kings did have a very solid defense and didn’t allow much in the way of goals last season. The Leafs situation on defense is a little different with some young players mixed in with some veterans.

In 147 career games played, he has a 50-66-15 record to go with a .911 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average. He has decent numbers considering he hasn’t played with the best teams during his career. In six years with the Buffalo Sabres, he played in 118 games, had a 38-56-14 record with a 2.92 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. He was traded in 2014-15 from the Sabres to the Dallas Stars. In 13 career games with the Stars, Enroth was 5-5-0 with a .906 save percentage to go with a 2.38 goals against average.

The 2014-15 season, split with the Sabres and Stars has been his best and worst of his career. The 18 wins and 44 games started during that season were a career high. However, Enroth also set career highs with 26 loses, 145 goals against, 1504 shots against and 3.07 goals against average.

Enroth is quick and can get post to post pretty quickly. He can also anticipate where the puck is going at times, but can also get caught out of position. Enroth can also perform well under pressure, which will come in handy playing in Toronto especially if Andersen gets injured. His size is an issue but he can make up for that a little with his reflexes. He is a solid backup NHL goalie.

The signing is a low risk, high reward one for the Maple Leafs. It’s low risk because he is known to be a solid backup goalie, but it can turn into a high reward if he plays to the best of his ability and is able to steal some wins for the team. The  biggest question with Enroth is – can he be the starting goalie for a long stretch of time should Andersen get hurt or find himself going through a funk?

It certainly will be an interesting season for the Maple Leafs in the crease.