Toronto Maple Leafs sign Garret Sparks to one-year contract extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed backup goaltender Garret Sparks to a new contract extension keeping the polarising backup around for another season.

Garret Sparks will remain a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs for at least one more season after the team signed him to a one-year deal.

The contract extension sees Sparks earn a small pay rise, holding an AAV and cap hit of $750,000 – an increase from the $675,000 he makes on his current, expiring deal.

Sparks, who was a seventh-round selection (190th overall) by the Leafs in the 2011 draft, was set to become a restricted free agent after this season.

The 25-year-old from Illinois has played in 14 games for the Leafs this season – posting a 7-5-1 record, averaging 3.09 goals against and posting a save percentage of .902.

In half of his games this year, Sparks has had no less than a .929 save percentage, but in his other half, he has failed to reach the .900 mark. He is a polarising player for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with many believing the team should have retained Curtis McElhinney after last year’s impressive display.

Others, meanwhile, believe that Sparks will continue to develop into a solid NHL backup and deserves more time to prove himself – especially after such an impressive season in the AHL in 2017/18.

More from Toronto Maple Leafs

• Maple Leafs Rumours: Half of NHL teams interested in Ilya Mikheyev
• Toronto Maple Leafs: How to address the goaltender position
• Leafs reward Timothy Liljegren with extension after breakout season
• Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell situation becoming increasingly uncertain
• Jason Spezza retires, joins Toronto Maple Leafs front office

Sparks was instrumental in helping the Toronto Marlies win their first ever Calder Cup, earning the Baz Bastien Award as the best goaltender in the AHL last season – posting a .936 save percentage and averaging just 1.79 goals against in 43 regular season games.

Sparks’ inconsistent play this season will likely draw many fans into discussions about whether or not he deserves to be given this extension, but the simple answer is – yes, he does. He is still young at 26 years old, and has proven himself to be beyond the AHL level after progressively improving over the past couple of seasons.

He has not yet been given enough games in the NHL to truly adapt to this level and settle, with Frederik Andersen regular playing more games than is typically expected of a starting goaltender.

Sparks’ low cap hit for next season will be a bonus for the team, with plenty of questions already being raised about the team’s financial situation with the likes of Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson all expecting big new deals.

Keeping Sparks, who is well-known within the organisation and has a comfort level within the team that free agents wouldn’t have, is a sensible move by Kyle Dubas – who knows Sparks extremely well from his time as general manager of the Marlies.

Sparks will have another season to prove his worth to the Toronto Maple Leafs and will cost the team very little – giving him another opportunity to improve his performances and show why the team continues to trust him.

This deal might split opinions, but it is a sensible short-term option that can always be reevaluated a year from now – when the likes of Ian Scott and Joseph Woll make their way to the AHL at the end of their junior career.

What do you think though Leafs Nation? Are you pleased to see Sparks locked down? Are you pleased with the term and the cost? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!