NHL Rumors: Ex-Maple Leafs D-man strikes out Jets' $1,750,000 goalie as ideal Joseph Woll replacement

Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Frankie Corrado doesn't like the idea of the team signing Winnipeg Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit. The Canadian netminder signed a one-year $1.75 million contract in July 2023. He has been linked to the Maple Leafs ahead of free agency to form a tandem with Joseph Woll.

Entering the offseason, Toronto is expected to let Ilya Samsonov walk in free agency. The hope for some Maple Leafs fans was to land a true No. 1 goalie like Juuse Saros or Jacob Markstrom.

But, the name that has kept coming up is Brossoit, who was the backup goalie with the Jets last season. However, Corrado doesn't think Brossoit makes Toronto better and doesn't understand why the Maple Leafs would be interested in him.

"I think he is a good goalie but I don't think it changes the way the Leafs look in net. Meaning, they still don't have that No. 1 guy that you want to have, you want to lean on. They'd be going with this tandem of saying okay it will be Woll if he can stay healthy, if not then okay, we got this guy who has been a backup but now you are going to be our guy," Corrado said on First Up on TSN radio.

"It doesn't scream solidified yet, even though he is a good goalie. It just doesn't scream solidified, he's good, it's going to be a tandem. I don't know why they would want to go down that road after the last few years," Corrado added.

The hosts then add that if Brossoit is the guy Toronto wants, they should just bring back Martin Jones, who is cheaper than Brossoit and can fill a similar role. Currently, it does appear the Maple Leafs are frontrunners to sign Brossoit come July 1.

Last season with the Jets, Brossoit played in 23 games going 15-5-2 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .927 SV%.

---

The Maple Leafs focused on getting another goalie

After Toronto was eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving says finding a goalie is a key point to their offseason.

Toronto has been linked to Saros and Markstrom, but Treliving says the team needs to have a better goalie in the playoff series going forward.

“I believe in Joe as a goaltender. We have to support Joe. Ilya’s contract is up, but we certainly have to try to put ourselves in a position where we don’t have the second-best goaltender in each of these series," Treliving said at the year-end press conference.

Currently, Toronto only has Joseph Woll under contract for next season.