Andrei Vasilevskiy's injury could hurt Maple Leafs

By now, you've heard the news that Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will be on the shelf for the next eight to ten weeks after undergoing back surgery. This puts the Lightning in a considerable rough spot, especially given the fact that they don't have a proven backup to take Vasilevskiy's role in the crease during his absence.

Right now, the only viable option is Jonas Johansson, who spent most of last season playing in the American Hockey League while racking up a 14-9-2 record, 2.33 goals against average, and .920 save percentage. But he's never played more than seven games in a season at the NHL level, and it could be a rough first two months of 2023-24 for the Lightning.

That's where the rival Toronto Maple Leafs could come in. Right now, they've inked veteran goaltender Martin Jones to a one-year contract worth just under $900K, but were reportedly mulling placing him on waivers with the hopes that he'd go unclaimed prior to the season's start. What are the chances that the Lightning could scoop up Jones to give themselves a warm body in the crease that has plenty of NHL experience in his career?

Last year while playing for the Seattle Kraken, Jones was a regular in the crease while spelling starter Philipp Grubauer, posting a record of 27-13-3 but with a goals against average of 2.99 and .877 save percentage.

Should he ultimately hit the waiver wire and be snagged by the Bolts as a placeholder for Vasilevskiy, the Leafs could move forward with Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll as their tandem.

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