A playoff history in recent years isn’t a reason for these two teams to avoid a possible trade. The Tampa Bay Lightning are in need of a veteran goaltender to kick off the season following the news that their starter, Andrei Vasilevskiy, would miss eight to 10 weeks following back surgery, while the Toronto Maple Leafs could have a goalie that could come at a cheap cost in the interim.
In early August, the Maple Leafs signed 33-year-old Martin Jones to a one-year contract worth $875,000. The move came with some question marks with the belief that they would be starting the season with Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll as their tandem in net. That, along with the fact that Jones would require waivers, made it an interesting move for Brad Treliving’s Maple Leafs.
Now, however, it could end up being the perfect offseason acquisition. With the Lightning depth chart in net being a shortlist of unfamiliar names to the average fan, the team is surely in the hunt for a cheaper option to fill the void until their star netminder comes back.
Enter the Maple Leafs.
What Does Martin Jones Offer?
Some might forget when Jones first arrived in the NHL, but he opened his career with the Los Angeles Kings backing up Jonathan Quick. He quickly became the starter with the San Jose Sharks as a 26-year-old and has since had stops in Philadelphia and, most recently, Seattle.
While his numbers aren’t spectacular over his career, the undrafted goaltender has put up solid numbers over his career making him an average starter through his first 10 seasons.
His best days obviously came in San Jose, but even with the Kraken, Jones gave them a shot to make a postseason run last year with average numbers. As for his career, Jones has a 225-163-35 career record in 444 regular season games played. He carries a .905 save percentage (SV%) and 2.71 goals against average (GAA) with 28 shutouts — numbers that could make him a valuable fill-in for the Lightning.
Lightning’s Depth Chart Thin in Net
Beyond Vasilevskiy who has single-handedly carried the Lightning in net over the past handful of seasons, the team is lacking in the goaltending department. Names like Jonas Johansson, Hugo Alnefelt and Matt Tomkins come next in their depth chart and it surely won’t sit well if the team gets off to a bad start in 2023-24.
So, shopping for a veteran goalie seems like the best option and while there are other names that could be acquired, something about Jones seems to be appealing. Keep in mind that Jones is coming off a season in which he went 27-13-3 in 48 games played with a 2.99 GAA and .886 SV%, his experience behind that Lightning defensive corps could push him back towards his Sharks’ days and numbers.
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Regardless, the Lightning will need to do something. Between Johansson, Alnefelt and Tomkins, they have 36 games of regular season experience — with Tomkins not having played a single game in the NHL to this point.
So, could the Maple Leafs and Lightning be legitimate trade partners?
Making a Realistic Offer for Jones
To think the Maple Leafs would get something a immediate value would be naive. The Lightning don’t have an overly deep prospect pool and the ones they do have likely wouldn’t come over for the veteran goalie, Jones.
But it isn’t out of the realm of possibility to assume the Maple Leafs could get a pick out of the deal. The only issue is that the Lightning don’t have control over too many of their future picks over the next couple of seasons.
Still, they have their third-round pick in 2024 and their second in 2025. It’s a stretch to consider the Maple Leafs landing the second-round pick, but could the Lightning’s need for a goaltender to kick of the new campaign push them to deal a third-round pick in the upcoming draft?
It’s not out of the realm of possibility. In fact, Jones could be a legitimate option for the Lightning even when Vasilevskiy returns as a back-up and that could ultimately land the Maple Leafs that third round pick.
As of now, the Lightning have Johansson listed as their starter with Alnefelt as their second option, but don’t be surprised to see them pull the trigger soon with the season just around the corner.
Rivals or not, the Maple Leafs have something the Lightning need.