Toronto Maple Leafs trade goaltender Petr Mrazek, 2022 first-round pick to Chicago Blackhawks

MONTREAL — The Maple Leafs have traded goaltender Petr Mrazek and their 2022 first-round draft choice to Chicago, in exchange for a Blackhawks’ 2022 second-round selection.

The deal was good business for the Leafs. In sacrificing their first-round choice, Toronto unloaded the final two seasons of Mrazek’s contract and retained none of the $3.8 million per year cap hit. The backup is coming off an injury-plagued campaign where he went 12-6-0 with an .888 SV% and 3.34 GAA. Mrazek was eventually sidelined late in the regular season by a groin injury that would also hold him out of Toronto’s first-round playoff run.

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That wasn’t the production Toronto was looking for when general manager Kyle Dubas brought Mrazek on board last summer to support incumbent Jack Campbell. Now, Campbell is the pending unrestricted free agent, and Toronto needed more space to potentially re-sign not only Campbell but also key restricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Sandin.

Taking Mrazek off the books gives the Leafs over $10 million in space for next season, which should provide enough space to get those top deals done.

In Mrazek, the Blackhawks will have a goaltender looking to rebound. The veteran played well for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2018-21, going 50-32-8 with a .911 SV%. If that’s the sort of output Chicago can get from Mrazek, their crease will be in better shape than it has been since Marc-Andre Fleury was traded to Minnesota in March.

The Blackhawks had cap space to burn – especially after trading Alex DeBrincat to Ottawa earlier in the day – and no NHL-caliber goalies signed for next season. This gives them a known commodity to fill in that gap.