Maple Leafs GM Explains Why He Signed Petr Mrazek
Mrazek is Younger and Coming Off a Better Season.
While the sample size isn't huge, Dubas loved what he saw from Mrazek last season as he recorded a 6-2-3 record with a 2.06 GAA and a .923 save %. Andersen on the other hand struggled when he was healthy and couldn't find his game once he returned from a leg injury. Mrazek is three years younger than the Danish netminder, and this certainly played a factor when the Leafs handed out three year deal to the 28-year-old Czech netminder.
Mrazek Comes From a Tandem:
Dubas was only interested in signing or acquiring goaltenders who have experience playing in a tandem, and Mrazek has done so for years in Carolina. Jack Campbell is likely to start game 1 next season for the Leafs, but Dubas wanted to bring someone in to push Campbell for the crease and someone who was comfortable splitting time regardless of how well you're playing. Mrazek has done this and more for the Hurricanes. He's also shown he's capable of taking over the net and being the guy, which was very appealing for Leafs management.
Money Was Right:
Andersen out priced himself off the Maple Leafs as much as Mrazek priced himself on. The Leafs had to spend less than $4 million on another netminder if they wanted to be able to add the depth they were looking for up front. Mrazek ended up signing for $3.8 million for three seasons, meanwhile Andersen received $4.5 million from Carolina. Sometimes the numbers just don't add up and for the Leafs, they have to because of how cap crunched their roster is.
