Burke Lands Goalie Ben Scrivens
The Leafs continued their offseason stockpiling of goaltenders today, announcing that they have signed College free agent Ben Scrivens to a one year contract.
Scrivens compiled an impressive 21-9-4 record with Cornell last year, with a .934 save percentage. Â He was also a top ten Hobey Baker finalist.
According to TSN, It is expected that Scrivens will challenge for playing time on the Toronto Marlies.
More after the jump.
From Garret Bauman:
Great move. There is no such thing as having enough goaltending. Philadelphia this past season is proof enough of that.
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For those worried about where these guys will play, you have to remember four things:
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(1) None of the prospects (Scrivens, Rynnas, Reimer, Engelege) have been deemed NHL-ready. Reimer and Rynnas are closest of the four. The development time will serve them well.
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(2) Giguere is only under contract for one more season. In 2011-12, the plan will presumably be for one of Scrivens, Rynnas and Reimer to challenge for a spot in the NHL alongside Gustavsson (Engelege likely projects to be a career minor-leaguer, but I am hoping he surprises). Competition brings out the best in players, so keep an eye on who emerges next season.
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(3) The Leafs are covered in the event of either a poor training camp by somebody, or more likely, any sort of injury situation that affects their goaltending corps.
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(4) The Leafs have moveable assets now as well. Given the new signings, a guy like Reimer may become a desireable asset for teams looking for youthful goaltending depth toward the trade deadline or prior (will be RFA at the end of the 2010-11 season).
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If anything, this signing speaks volumes of the importance of having a good coaching staff, as Rynnas and Scrivens both turned down teams with less depth to have a chance to further develop their games via Allaire’s guidance.
Alex Tran adds:
If Reimer, Rynnas and Scrivens all show they can play at the AHL level, I wonder if Burke will loan one of them out to another AHL club.
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