It’s proving time for Campbell
Getting Michael Hutchinson through the waiver wire before NHL cutdown day is already paying dividends for the Maple Leafs.
Barely a week has passed and he’s being summoned to back up Jack Campbell.
As dubiously as Hutchinson’s first stint with the organization ended, he won back some trust while winning four games in the second go-round last season. He’s shown he can be leaned on to perform capably in spot duty, which is what he’ll be called on to do now that Petr Mrázek has gone down with a groin injury.
It was an unfortunate — if not entirely unpredictable — turn for a goaltender who arrived in Toronto with a bulky medical file. That was part of the risk the Leafs took on while extending Mrázek an $11.4-million (U.S.), three-year contract this summer.
They did so with designs on running a tandem this season and already it is Campbell’s crease for the foreseeable future.
He won’t be splitting starts evenly with Hutchinson.
Mrázek lasted just 40 minutes in his Leafs debut, falling forward into a snow angel formation at the second-period buzzer after extending his left leg to stop a Victor Mete shot. Sheldon Keefe had no update on his condition following Thursday’s 3-2 loss in Ottawa, but it’s safe to assume he’ll need some recovery time.
The Leafs can find some comfort in their depth at the position. This situation would look much worse had Hutchinson been claimed off waivers Oct. 7 and then Mrázek got injured seven days later.
Most encouraging of all is the way Campbell has performed so far, stopping 41 of 42 shots across his first four periods of the regular season. That came after a training camp where he picked right up where he left off in his breakthrough NHL campaign, removing any doubt about whether he or Mrázek would be called on against Montreal for Wednesday’s opener.
“I mean it wasn’t even a question with who was going to start this game,” Keefe said this week. “All off-season, all through camp, he’s never given us a reason to think anything different.”
The only small worry with Campbell would be workload. He missed a month with his own groin injury last season and has never played more than 31 NHL games in any given year.
Should Mrázek be sidelined for any meaningful amount of time, he could be in line to surpass 50 starts — although the schedule brings some reprieve with only two backto-back sets between now and mid-November.
While Campbell said he made tweaks to his off-ice approach following his injury last season, he didn’t do anything differently this summer to prepare for a campaign where he’ll likely be called on more often. The sting of May’s playoff loss to Montreal was all the motivation he needed to push himself hard in the gym.
“I mean I expect to play at a certain level every time I’m in the net,” he said at the outset of training camp. “I don’t control how many games I play, that’s up to the coach, but I do expect to play up to my standard and that’s what I’m focused on.
“Being prepared. Being a leader in this room. And when I am called to go in there and just do my job.”
This is setting up as a massive year for the former 11th overall pick with unrestricted free agency on the horizon in July. By signing Mrázek to a contract carrying a $3.8-million average annual value, the Leafs essentially set the floor on where Campbell’s next deal starts in the event he carries the No. 1 job through this season.
He still needs to prove he can do it, though.
Campbell earned a huge measure of respect by ripping off 11 straight wins to start last year and posting a .921 save percentage. But in a recent poll conducted by the Athletic featuring general managers, head coaches, goalie coaches, goalie gurus and former goalies he was ranked as the 25th-best starter in the league.
And he still doesn’t own an NHL resumé as deep as Hutchinson, who is two years his senior and has 47 more career games played at this level.
For as long as Mrázek is unavailable to play, it will be Campbell in net for the Leafs most nights. This is the kind of situation he’s long dreamed of being in and never held so firmly in his hands.
The stakes are massive for him and for the franchise in this season where they are both trying to vanquish some ghosts.
“He’s been through a lot to get to this position. He’s worked extremely hard, he’s had to continue to believe in himself and deal with adversity and those kind of things,” said Keefe.
“He’s earned the confidence of our organization here and with his teammates.”
They really need him to stand tall now.