The Maple Leafs are working on acquiring a veteran goalie -- but it’s not the one you might think.
Toronto has reportedly been granted permission by Calgary to speak with Miikka Kiprusoff, according to Sportsnet’s John Shannon.
Kiprusoff, 36, has two years remaining on the six-year, $35 million deal he signed with Calgary in 2008. While his no-trade/movement clause has expired, reports have suggested he wouldn’t report to a new team if he was dealt.
It’s believed family reasons are at the core of this decision. Kiprusoff’s wife recently gave birth to their second son, Oskar.
As such, the Leafs presumably want to do their homework before doing a deal -- but that’s not the only angle of this story.
Earlier today, Toronto GM Dave Nonis said adding a goalie wasn’t a priority for his club, which is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“It’s the same as every other position,” Nonis said. “If we can add a goaltender that strengthens our group and helps the guys that we have here, then we would look to do it. If not, as we’ve said all along, we think we have two NHL-caliber goalies [in James Reimer and Ben Scrivens.]
“They’ve proved that so far this year, and goaltending hasn’t been an issue.”
The other angle?
Toronto’s been tied to Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo for what feels like forever.
Over the weekend, reports surfaced that the Leafs and Canucks had renewed discussions about the 33-year-old netminder.
That revelation was followed by GM Mike Gillis saying that multiple teams were in on Luongo:Gillis re #Luongo, “we’re talking to 4 teams with varying levels of activity and various proposals” #canucks
— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) April 1, 2013
All this could be smoke -- posturing, if you will.
The Canucks could be driving up their asking price by saying several teams are inquiring about Luongo, and the Leafs could be countering by saying they’re serious about Kiprusoff.
Whatever the case, it promises to be an interesting story to follow as we creep closed to Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Update:
According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, there’s also a team other than Toronto talking to Calgary about Kiprusoff.