Stan Smith and I recently wrote that the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to add to their goaltending depth before the start of the 2023-24 season. We noted that the team had only two goalies in their system with any NHL experience, 25-year-old Ilya Samsonov with 148 games and 25-year-old Joseph Woll with 15 games.
Of course, as what usually happens when Stan Smith and I write something, the Maple Leafs read what we write and act on it immediately. We wrote our post on Aug. 8 and the Maple Leafs signed Martin Jones on Aug. 9 to a one-year $875,000 contract.
Signing Jones Comes with Some Questions
Joking aside, the signing of Jones does come with questions. The first question that comes to mind is why would a veteran NHL goalie who is far from over the hill at 33 years of age with over 500 games of experience, including 63 playoff games, sign such a paltry deal?
Second, from a Maple Leafs point of view, why risk signing a goalie the caliber of Jones to a deal knowing that the odds are good that he may never play a meaningful game for the team?
The Pluses in Signing Jones
When a team is counting on two 25-year-old goalies to carry the load, Jones might be the perfect third option. He is a proven and capable goalie in both the regular season and playoffs, having carried the San Jose Sharks to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. He could not only handle the load if called upon on the ice, but he could also be an excellent mentor for two young goalies off the ice.
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Both Samsonov and Woll have a history of injuries. Checking different sources, it appears that Jones has suffered just one injury in the past five years. That undisclosed injury only kept him out for a little over a week in April of this year.
Anyone who has played the game of hockey can attest that the beginning of the season, training camp, and exhibition games are a tough time when it comes to injuries. That is especially true for goalies. If either Samsonov or Woll were to suffer an injury prior to the start of the regular season, Jones again is an excellent third option.
The Minuses in Signing Jones
Jones was stellar in the first five years he played in the NHL. His save percentage (SV%) ranged between .906 percent at the low end and .934 percent at the high end. The highest goals-against average (GAA) he had in those five seasons was 2.55 per game. His lowest was 1.81.
In his past five seasons, Jones has not come close to those numbers. His best SV% in the past half a decade was .900 percent while his worst was .886 percent posted just last season. His best GAA in that time period was 2.94 while his worst was 3.42. For whatever reason, Jones has not been the same goalie in recent years that he was when he first came into the league.
As we stated earlier, it is possible that Jones never plays a meaningful game for the Maple Leafs. If both Samsonov and Woll make it through the preseason injury free, they will be the two goalies on the roster in the first game of the season. There is no doubt about that.
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If that happens, the Maple Leafs will either have to find a way to carry three goalies on a roster that is presently $1-3 million over the NHL’s upper limit of the salary cap. Depending on how many players they carry and who those players are, they will have to place Jones on waivers to be sent to the American Hockey League (AHL).
Was the Deal Jones Signed the Best He Could Get?
Back to a key question: why would an experienced NHL goalie like Jones sign such a low-end deal? It is most likely that, at this point in time, it’s the best deal he can get. But, the picture could look completely different at the end of training camp. Teams will undoubtedly suffer injuries to their goalies and will be looking for a replacement.
Jones, at a cap hit of only $875,000 and an actual salary of only $775,000 (Jones received a $100,000 signing bonus when he signed the deal) would be an attractive addition to a team down a goalie. If the Maple Leafs were to place Jones on waivers prior to the start of the regular season, there is a pretty good chance he could get claimed. That would leave the Maple Leafs back to square one, with only two relatively young goalies with any NHL experience.
The Bottom Line
The Maple Leafs were in need of a third goalie option with some NHL experience, and Jones was a reasonably priced option for them. With their salary cap situation, it was essential they acquire a goalie with as close to the same cap hit as Woll in case it was Woll they needed to replace. Jones’ cap hit is just over $100,000 more than Woll’s, a number that cap guru Brandon Pridham can probably easily work with.
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At worst, if Jones is claimed whenever he is placed on waivers, it cost the Maple Leafs $100,000 in the signing bonus and puts them back to square one, and once again in need of a third goalie. This will be at a time when there should be lots of movement in goalies, either by being placed on waivers themselves or through failed PTOs. While the best option for a third goalie might be Jones, there will be other options at that time.
We could look at the Maple Leafs losing Jones to waivers as a best-case scenario. It would mean that both Samsonov and Woll made it through training camp healthy. That means the Maple Leafs’ goalie situation would be solidly in the hands of these two young players.
It might even be that, at that time of the year, Jones could make it through waivers and move to the AHL Toronto Marlies. That would probably work, too.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
