Maple Leafs Officially Send Goalie Down to AHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs made it official on Friday morning as the team has sent goaltender Petr Mrazek down to the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint.

The Maple Leafs have assigned goaltender Petr Mrázek to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an LTIR conditioning loan.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) December 3, 2021

The veteran netminder is expected to get into some game action over the weekend and looks to test the limits of his never ending groin injury. Mrazek signed in Toronto in the offseason to push Jack Campbell for the starting goalie position and it's been a one-man show for the Maple Leafs so far in 2021-22. Campbell has been lights out and is now one of the best goalies in the league. It seems like even with Mrazek back into the fold healthy, it's still going to be Campbell starting game one of the postseason.

So far in the two games Mrazek has appeared in this season, the Czech native has recorded a 4.20 goals against average and a .877 save percentage. He came back to early after getting hurt to begin the season and ended up re-injuring himself. The team hopes this time around he's able to find his game by remaining on the ice.

The Maple Leafs called up Michael Hutchinson this week from the AHL as current backup Joseph Woll is also banged up. Woll has impressed a tremendous amount this season and is 3-0-0 to start his career. It's a tough break for the rookie as if he's able to get back out there before Mrazek returns, he could show the organization he's ready and push general manager Kyle Dubas to move Mrazek next summer via trade. At this point that's still a very fluid situation.

The Maple Leafs play in back-to-back games this weekend at Minnesota and Winnipeg, so Leafs Nation is curious to see which goalie starts on Sunday. As it looks right now it could be Hutchinson, but the fan base would likely rather see Woll between the pipes. One goalie it won't be is Mrazek as he's headed for some bus rides to get back in shape.

Photo credit:  Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports