Incumbent has leg up as backup
Leafs backup Curtis McElhinney has shown an ability to perform despite long stretches between appearances. Veteran McElhinney appears to be winning battle with Sparks
There was never a doubt with Curtis McElhinney.
The veteran goalie and solidas-a-rock backup for the Leafs is all but confirmed to reprise his role for the upcoming season. The fact he was included in the main group in training camp Thursday, for the first time this pre-season, suggested the battle for the backup job is all but over.
It was only natural when Garret Sparks made an early bid for the job that there was speculation he could replace McElhinney. Sparks has been in the organization seven years and is coming off a superb AHL season where he won the league’s goalie of the year award with a 1.79 goals-against average. He should be on an NHL roster.
But McElhinney has proven indispensable to the Leafs despite a depth chart that includes Sparks and Calvin Pickard.
“In my 20s, I might have thought about this ( job battle) a lot more, but I’m too old now,” the 35-year-old McElhinney said recently. “So I just try and come out prepared and work as hard as I can.”
McElhinney has earned a reputation as a reliable backup, excelling in a challenging role in Toronto. He will sit for long periods of time while starter Freddie Andersen occupies the spotlight. The Leafs starter set career highs with 66 starts each of the past two seasons.
For McElhinney, that means long stretches without an appearance before facing the pressure of having to perform when the call comes. That’s usually on the second night of back-to-back games, or when Andersen gets a rare breather in his otherwise hectic schedule.
After close to two seasons in the Leafs’ backup role, McElhinney has appeared in 32 games, making 25 starts and posting a 17-12 record with a 2.45 goals-against average. His .925 save percentage is sterling for a backup, and his qualitystart percentage the past two seasons (.600 and .533) is respectable. A percentage of .600 is considered excellent, .500 is passable.
McElhinney could be called upon more often this season. There are questions about Andersen’s workload and a fall-off in his performance last March and later in the first round of the playoffs.
The club’s thinking with Andersen could change from month to month, based on how the starter feels and performs. But the Leafs seem confident in McElhinney as the backup.
Sparks, meantime, is not about to give up. His disappointing performance against Montreal earlier this week — he allowed five goals in the first two periods Monday — may have tilted the battle back in McElhinney’s favour, but the well-spoken 25-year-old was not daunted by the optics of Thursday’s assignments. He was back with what is considered the Marlies group in camp.
“I don’t think there is,” Sparks said, when he was asked if there was anything to read into that. “If you count yourself out, you count yourself out. No point in giving anything less than110 per cent all the time.
“I don’t think I’ve been my best. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere close to what is my optimal level as a goalie. I have brought work ethic and it’s about getting back to things that make you successful.
“It’s different out there in camp than it is working out in the summer, you have to perform at a certain level right away. I can be more composed, and those are all things I can work on.”