The Toronto Maple Leafs already signed restricted free agent defenseman Connor Carrick to a one-year deal today, and they’ve done the same with goaltender Calvin Pickard. The team announced a one-year one-way contract for Pickard worth $800K. That’s actually a pay cut from the last two years, in which Pickard averaged $1MM on a deal signed by the Colorado Avalanche.
It wasn’t the Avalanche who traded Pickard to the Maple Leafs though, that honor fell to the Vegas Golden Knights after selecting him in the recent expansion draft. Pickard was waived by the team after they acquired Malcolm Subban from the Boston Bruins, but went unclaimed before Toronto sent a sixth-round pick and Tobias Lindberg over to the Golden Knights. That allowed the Maple Leafs to immediately send Pickard to the minor leagues, where he would form the best tandem in the AHL alongside Garret Sparks and take the Toronto Marlies all the way to a Calder Cup championship.
Interestingly though, it’s Sparks existence in the Toronto organization that complicates Pickard’s NHL future. The Maple Leafs have their starting goaltender locked up in Frederik Andersen, but the backup position is still undecided with Curtis McElhinney, Sparks and Pickard all vying for the role. Seeing as the team also recently signed minor league goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to a two-year contract, one would have to think the team will move one of their goaltenders out before the next season begins. This contract doesn’t preclude them from trading Pickard, and since he’ll need waivers to be sent down that could be the eventual decision.
In 87 career NHL games, the 26-year old Pickard has a .913 save percentage and could easily be relied upon as a backup in the league. If he’s Toronto’s third—or even fourth—option next season, they should be happy with their depth at the position.
Weird signing
Ya you’d think they’d want to use Sparks as the back up this year
It’s 800k let’s not think they have no cap room.