A chance at some input on his output
In the days before Mike Babcock was fired as head coach of the Maple Leafs last week, Frederik Andersen was asked how much input he had been given into the team’s goaltending rotation.
“Zero,” Andersen said. “It’s not part of my job description.”
Don’t get it wrong. This wasn’t Andersen complaining about his lack of say in things under Babcock, even if the coach’s dictatorial tendencies were well established during his four-seasons-plus reign over the Maple Leafs’ lineup. This was Andersen stating the facts about a situation that has been a point of contention around the team all season. That the Maple Leafs are 0-5-1 in the second leg of back-toback sets of games; that three of those no-loser-point losses have come against division rivals; that Andersen has played in none of those games — it’s led more than a few observers to suggest the club’s philosophy on back-to-back games might be due for a rethink.
Maybe Andersen ought to play against the superior opponent, or at least the divisional one, instead of constantly defaulting to the first one. Maybe Andersen ought to play the tougher scheduling situation, which invariably ranks as the second of consecutive games, when the team is typically less sharp on account of fatigue. And what would be wrong with Andersen playing both ends of a two-games-in-two-nights situation? Certainly it’s been done before, even if the overriding statistical case suggests even elite goaltenders are typically at something less than their best when playing on zero days’ rest.
Andersen, as much as he wasn’t asked for his input on the issue, said he did volunteer his services in such a situation once this season. This was in the wake of a 4-1 home win over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 25. Toronto was slated to play in Montreal the following night. And since the Sharks had only managed 17 shots on goal — the lowest total a Leafs netminder had seen all season heading into Wednesday night’s game in Detroit — Andersen said he made it known to the team’s hierarchy that he’d be comfortable getting back in the crease in less than 24 hours.
“I felt like I could have played both nights … We did a really good job of limiting chances and I felt like I could go again,” Andersen said. “But they wanted to try and get (Michael Hutchinson) going. So I understand that.”
Understandable, maybe. But the Leafs, as it turned out, did not get Hutchinson going. He allowed five goals on 38 shots against the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs lost 5-3. And
Hutchinson would only receive one more chance at redemption — a 5-4 loss to the Blackhawks on Nov. 10 — before he was waived on Remembrance Day and ultimately landed with the AHL Marlies. Kasimir Kaskisuo, brought up to take the role, lost in his only try with the Maple Leafs, a 6-1 surrender in Pittsburgh, before Hutchinson was called back up this week.
“I really hope he gets another shot at it — he’s an unreal great guy and an unbelievable person,” Andersen had said of Hutchinson on the occasion of the backup’s Nov. 11 removal from the NHL roster.
It was difficult not to feel badly for Hutchinson. His career numbers aren’t going to convince anyone he’s a bona fide solution at a position that’s been a headache for the Maple Leafs since general manager
Kyle Dubas allowed Curtis McElhinney to be plucked off waivers last October to make room for the ill-fated Garret Sparks. Hutchinson’s career save percentage of .906 ranks 58th among the 62 goaltenders who have played at least 100 NHL games since he debuted in the league in 2013-14.
Exactly how Sheldon Keefe is going to handle the goaltending deployment is still unknown. But if his interaction with much of the roster is any guide — and Keefe has spent plenty of time huddled discussing the state of the team with multiple players since he was promoted from the Marlies upon Babcock’s ouster — it’s a safe guess that Andersen figures to have at least a little more say in his day-to-day fate. Anything more than zero would be welcome, you’d have to believe.
Andersen has long been conscious that the season is a marathon and not a sprint. Last year, he pulled himself out of action for an eight-game stint beginning in December to nurse a groin injury with an eye toward being at his best in the playoffs. And the plan might have worked if the Leafs would have killed some penalties and scored a timely goal or two against Boston in Game 6, wherein Toronto lost a potential closeout opportunity 5-3 despite allowing only one even-strength goal.
Still, another first-round loss hasn’t discouraged Andersen from believing in the merits of proper self-pacing over the six-month regular season. And Tuesday’s practice, wherein Andersen spent about 30 minutes in a skills session with goaltending coach Steve Briere before departing the ice altogether, figures to be a harbinger for things to come. If Toronto’s lack of an established backup had Andersen on pace to start 62 games heading into Wednesday — far more than the 50-something he has said would be closer to optimal — then it only makes sense to at least limit Andersen’s exposure to the high volume of speeding pucks that comes with a typical team skate.
“I get to enjoy a little rest without actually having games off, and that’s always good, too,” Andersen has said of the individual-skills-only practice routine, which was used sparingly under Babcock. “You go in, you maybe take some time to work on some specific drills that will maybe benefit you more than just taking a million shots in practice.”
That sounds like solid logic coming from a goaltender who has faced more shots and started more games than any NHL netminder since Andersen arrived in Toronto in 2016.
Soliciting Andersen’s input wasn’t in Babcock’s nature. Maybe it’s not part of a goaltender’s job description to make coaching decisions, but it’ll be surprising if Keefe’s ears won’t be open to his workhorse’s concerns.