Maple Leafs promote Sparks, trade Carrick

Garret Sparks has won the backup goalie job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Connor Carrick, meanwhile, is on the move. Sparks was named to the club’s 23-man roster on Monday, with fellow netminders Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard getting placed on waivers. At 25, Sparks appeared to be a much more likely candidate to be plucked from the waiver wire than the 35-year-old McElhinney or the 26-year-old Pickard. The Leafs traded 24-year-old defenceman Carrick to the Dallas Stars for a conditional seventhround pick in the 2019 NHL draft. If Carrick plays in 50 NHL games in 2018-19, the seventhround pick will be upgraded to a sixth-round selection.