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Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Goaltender Frederik Andersen

By Ryan Ritchie

Apr 21, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen (31) during the first period against the Nashville Predators in game four of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen (31) during the first period against the Nashville Predators in game four of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs Have Acquired Goaltender Frederik Andersen From the Anaheim Ducks in Exchange for Draft Picks

Toronto Maple Leafs addressed their goaltending issue on Monday by acquiring Frederik Andersen from the Anaheim Ducks.

In return, Anaheim receives the 30th overall pick in 2016, and a 2nd round pick in 2017.  Not bad for a pending RFA the Ducks were already incapable of re-signing.

GM Lou Lamoriello also announced following the trade that Toronto has inked Andersen to a five-year deal.  Reports are suggesting the deal is worth $5 million dollars/year (total $25 million dollars).

The 26-year-old 6’4 220lbs Danish netminder has 125 games of NHL experience over three seasons, including 114 starts. His record is 77-26-12 with a 2.33GAA and .918 save percentage over that period.  He is also 17-9-2 with a 2.34GAA and .916 save percentage in the postseason.

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His emergence in Anaheim was unexpected after being selected as a 2012 re-entry (3rd round) after Carolina failed to sign him (originally taken 7th round in 2010).

His great play eventually pushed both Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth out of the door.  Unfortunately, John Gibson was always intended to be the future in goal for Anaheim so Andersen’s tenure always had an unknown expiration date.

Oddly enough, we wrote a piece on the link between Toronto and Frederik Andersen awhile back.  It was always a natural fit for both sides.

Fans need to take note though.  While Frederik Andersen could be the long-term answer in goal for Toronto, don’t hold your breath.  Even though Andersen was arguably the top target for Toronto in goal, we are still talking about a netminder with a single season career high of 53 starts.  Any goalie expert will tell you, consistency over 60 games is what makes a quality starter.  He did go 35-12-5 over those 53 starts so give the Dane credit.

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Frederik Andersen is still a guy who has something to prove moving forward.

Over the last couple of seasons, Toronto Maple Leafs new goalie has largely been viewed as a “1A” type netminder – a term we hear often nowadays to describe a goalie with starter abilities who plays better immersed in a tandem carrying a 40-50 game load opposed to 60-plus.

To be completely fair, all of the above might be grossly unfair criticism.  The psychological/mental side has a much greater impact on guys between the pipes given how much more control they have over the final result in comparison to skaters.

Here the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired a guy who has done nothing but fight to keep his starter role with Gibson, Hiller, Fasth, among others, and put up great numbers.  Lost in the statistics is the fact that Andersen went 22-9-7 with Anaheim in 2015-16 while receiving the least amount of goal support among NHL goalies for a large chunk of the season.

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No guarantees that Andersen is the guy who will lead the Toronto Maple Leafs back into Stanley Cup contention, but fingers are crossed that he can be a core piece of the puzzle.

If you consider the price tag of the 30th overall pick and 2017 2nd rounder, it’s a virtual bargain for Lou, Shanny, and company.  Worst case scenario, it creates a large window to draft and develop.

The question now, does Toronto still invest a pair of draft picks in goalies, or can they get away with drafting one in Buffalo?

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