TORONTO - Dennis Hildeby earned the first shutout of his NHL career in a 2-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night.
The 24-year-old rookie is the interim starter with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz out with injury, and he has come up huge for Toronto in the meantime.
With Hildeby's recent performances, recording a .936 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average in nine appearances and five starts, he's giving the Leafs a luxury.
"What I see in that is he's trusting his ability and his size and, you know, staying pretty calm and cool in net," coach Craig Berube said afterward. "His puck play has been good, but overall, his mindset is really good."
With 'The Beast' playing the way he is now, along with Woll and Stolarz waiting to come off the injured reserve, the Maple Leafs could have the beginnings of a three-headed monster in the crease.
While Toronto's tandem hasn't been the most reliable in terms of health, they have tremendous depth at a bargain price. Hildeby earns $841,667 per year for the next three seasons, not to mention that Woll and Stolarz together earn less than a combined $7-million cap hit this season and less than $7.5 million next year.
With the Leafs owning three valuable goaltenders, should GM Brad Treliving consider trading one of them?
It's still relatively early in Hildeby's NHL career, but the Swedish netminder has been there when the Leafs needed him most in a limited sample size.
Plenty of teams around the NHL would love to have additional help between the pipes. Woll and Stolarz are exceptional goaltenders in their own right, even with their injuries.
A team like the Edmonton Oilers, which has been searching for a goalie at a low price, could be attracted to one of Toronto's netminders and would be willing to give up assets for help in net.
What that return for the Maple Leafs could be is uncertain, but depending on Woll and Stolarz's individual play, some clubs would be willing to throw a first-round pick for their services on their current contracts.
Stolarz, 31, has a 16-team no-trade clause on his contract for this year and the next, making $2.5 million against the cap this season, which jumps up to $3.75 million for the following three.
As for Woll, he earns about $3.67 million per season, and that deal lasts through the 2027-28 campaign. In addition, the 27-year-old has an eight-team no-trade list in the final year of his contract.
Sure, a first-round pick or prospects aren't helpful for a team looking to win now, but those future assets attract teams near the bottom of the standings who are looking to sell.
Toronto doesn't have a first-round pick until 2028 and is pretty thin in its prospect pool, too. So moving out a goaltender is a risk, but it provides an opportunity for Treliving to look for a way to bolster his roster toward the NHL trade deadline.
If teams are desperate enough for a goaltender, and the Leafs have three solid ones, it's not a terrible idea to see what could be received in return. Making a deal to move out a goaltender isn't about clearing cap space; it's about nabbing other resources that could be used to make some notable additions.
At the moment, Toronto has over $4 million in salary cap space. Moving off of either Woll or Stolarz could bring that up around the $7-million mark, leaving plenty of room for Treliving to work his magic.
In the meantime, Hildeby will look to build on a solid start to his NHL career. Every strong outing by Hildeby from this point onward will be a huge help to the Leafs – and also a pleasant problem if he's proven he's too good to head back to the minors.
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