Report: Artur Akhtyamov’s stellar AHL playoffs could influence Maple Leafs’ goaltending plans this offseason
Akhtyamov had a successful season in the American Hockey League, playing to a record of 21-12-4 along with a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.88 and a save percentage (SV%) of .904 along with an appearance at the AHL All Star Game. But it wasn’t until the playoffs when he started to really catch people’s attention. With the Marlies set to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Western Conference Final, Akhtyamov has a .922 SV% and a 2.18 GAA in 11 games so far.
“A lot of people around the league are noticing…the NHL combine begins this weekend in Buffalo, everybody’s gonna be there, and I think this is where the conversations are really going to begin. I think Toronto is gonna be asked what they’re thinking in goal. They’ve got four guys, you mentioned the two in the AHL, and they obviously have the two guys in the NHL with Woll and Stolarz. Toronto has done better than I think a lot of people in the AHL expected, I don’t know how many people expected them to beat Laval, and I don’t know how many people expected them to beat Cleveland, but they have, and he’s a major, major part of that.” -Friedman
As 32 Thoughts co-host Kyle Bukauskas noted, the main factor that will throw a wrench into things is the fact that Hildeby loses his waiver exemption next season. The next step will depend on how new general manager John Chayka values their goaltenders, because if they don’t have room for Hildeby on the NHL roster, they would probably prefer to trade him and get something in return rather than risk losing him for nothing.
“I have heard from some people who have been talking to the Toronto people around the AHL team, the organization is watching this and believing Akhtyamov is for real. So, I don’t know if they expect that he can play NHL games next year, but they definitely believe that he has an NHL future, and it’s going to be interesting to see if that affects any of Toronto’s decision-making in net this offseason, because people are looking for goalies and they have a surplus. And as you mentioned…they have to basically decide, are they going to have Hildeby be their backup next year, or risk losing him on waivers? So that will be something to watch for sure.”
Woll currently has two years remaining on a three-year contract worth $3.66 million annually. Stolarz, meanwhile, is making $3.5 million for the next four years, a deal he signed prior to last season. Of those two goaltenders, Stolarz has shown the higher ceiling, but you could argue that Woll has been far more dependable in the past two years. Both goaltenders have durability concerns, and funny enough, Hildeby outperformed both of them while he was in the NHL this past season. It’s creating a very interesting situation in net, and one that Chayka will have his hands full trying to navigate.
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