Maple Leafs could have a different goalie between the pipes on opening night
According to Sportsnet's Eric Francis, he believes that the Toronto Maple Leafs will have Calgary Flames goaltender Dan Vladar between the pipes for their opening game of the 2023-24 season.
While Brad Treliving has a lot on his plate and is focused on re-signing restricted free agent goaltender Ilya Samsonov, he knows what Vladar brings to the table and it's possible he sees him as a fit for the Maple Leafs.
The 25-year-old appeared in 27 games for the Calgary Flames this past season, where he had a record of 14-6-5 with a 2.83 GAA and an .895 save percentage. During his two seasons with the Flames, primarily as the team's backup to Jakob Markstrom, Vladar has 27 wins in 50 games.
Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames have plenty of decisions to make when it comes to their goaltending situation going forward. Top prospect Dustin Wolf has been arguably the best goaltender in the American Hockey League the last two seasons. He has 75 wins in 102 regular season games and is knocking on the door of the National Hockey League. The Flames also re-signed Oskar Dansk to a two-way contract this week, so it seems inevitable that Craig Conroy will move a goaltender off his roster this summer, whether that be Markstrom or Vladar.
Vladar, a native of Prague (Czechia), will be entering the first year of a two-year contract extension he signed back in October, with an AAv of $2.2 million. Whether it be the Maple Leafs or another team, adding Vladar wouldn't be a tough move given his low AAV and there should be plenty of general managers around the league that will be interested.
| POLL | ||
Who will be between the pipes for Toronto's season opener? | ||
| Ilya Samsonov | 50 | 48.1 % |
| Joseph Woll | 27 | 26 % |
| Dan Vladar | 13 | 12.5 % |
| See Results | 14 | 13.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
