Signing of Martin Jones: forget the Leafs in the Allen / DeSmith case

The Leafs have often had problems in front of the net. That’s nothing new… And it shouldn’t be a cause for change next season.

The club has placed Matt Murray on the long-term injury list, and should rely on Ilya Samsonov as their number-one goaltender. Next, the organization will have to assess whether Joseph Woll has enough experience to officially make the jump to the NHL…

And if not, at least the Leafs can count on Martin Jones as an insurance policy.

Jones has agreed to a one-season contract that will pay him $875,000. But the addition of Jones also means that the Leafs can forget about the Jake Allen / Casey DeSmith deal.

The idea of the Leafs dipping into the CH’s backyard at the goaltender position has been gaining ground in recent days, especially since the acquisition of the former Penguins :

One of the two goaltenders currently owned by the Montreal Canadiens could leave if he starts to get some goal traffic in Montreal.

Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen, Casey DeSmith, Cayden Primeau… It’s getting crowded at Mass.

We can practically remove Primeau’s name from the discussion because we all know he won’t make the club and is eligible for the ballot.

It’s the other three who are the talk of the town. It would be particularly surprising for the CH to start the year with three goalies, and that’s exactly why we’re expecting to see Allen or DeSmith traded, given that Monty seems to have cemented his place as number one for the time being.

Is there a world in which Kent Hughes sacrifices the Quebecer? Perhaps. But I still believe that Montembeault isn’t going anywhere until we’ve fully seen what he’s capable of in a first-choice role.

I get the impression that we want to give him a chance to prove himself before making such a decision.

But back to the Leafs.

The offensively gifted team will try once and for all to silence its detractors by lifting a Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967.

Everyone knows the Leafs have the tools to be the NHL’s most dominant club, but then again, maybe it’s the situation in front of the net that’s the problem.

After all, it’s hard to believe that the club will lift the precious trophy with Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Woll or Martin Jones as their number-one goaltender. The club’s defense would have to be more than excellent for us to witness such a story, and that, too, is perhaps a slight downside.

Right now, the Leafs are over the $13,256,450 salary cap. That’s no mean feat, and even with Matt Murray and Jake Muzzin’s contracts on the LTIR, Brad Treliving will have his work cut out for him in order to “fit” everyone on his payroll.

It won’t be an easy task… But it seems that in Toronto, it’s all the time.

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