Toronto Maple Leafs Claim Curtis McElhinney off Waivers

The Toronto Maple Leafs have claimed journeyman goaltender Curtis McElhinney off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled to get consistent performances from their backup goaltenders, with Jhonas Enroth finding himself regularly loaned to the Toronto Marlies.

Enroth started/played in six games for the Leafs, registering a 3.94 goals against and a save percentage of .872 — numbers that won’t help the team as they get closer to the playoffs.

Antoine Bibeau, a Leafs goalie prospect that has played regularly for the Marlies in recent seasons, was significantly better in the two games he was in net.

In a win and a loss, Bibeau posted a 1.99 goal against average while his save percentage was .927 — excellent numbers for the 22-year-old.

But Leafs management would prefer to give Bibeau more playing time with the Marlies, rather than have him play in a handful of games this season as the NHL team’s backup.

Enter Curtis McElhinney, a 33-year-old journeyman goalie from London, Ontario, that has backed up Sergei Bobrovsky for the past few seasons in Columbus.

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McElhinney has performed well this season as a backup for the high-flying Blue Jackets, posting a 2-1-2 record with a 2.39 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

He also comes at a relatively cheap cost, with a cap hit of just $800,000 – $50,000 more than Enroth.

His contract also expires at the end of this season, so the Leafs are not tied to McElhinney for the long-term and can use him as much, or as little, as they feel is necessary.

In an interesting twist of fate, McElhinney could find himself playing against the Blue Jackets in just over a month’s time, with the Leafs playing them in the second game of another back-to-back series.

This could potentially put McElhinney on the ice at the same time as the man he regularly backed up over the past four seasons — Bobrovsky.

Frederik Andersen, who has had a miraculous turnaround from a difficult start to the season, is entrenched as the Leafs starter and McElhinney should feel comfortable in a role he has held throughout his career.

Having a strong backup goaltender is essential to any team looking to make the playoffs and have any chance of progressing past the first round.

With McElhinney, the Leafs are hoping that they now finally have that.

Next: Leafs Falls 5-3 To Canadiens

What do you think of the Curtis McElhinney claim? Are you happy to see him join the Toronto Maple Leafs? Do you feel Enroth should have been given more time? Let us know in the comments!