Toronto Maple Leafs need to bench Frederik Andersen

Frederik Andersen hasn’t found any consistency this season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs need to show him the bench.

Thanks to the luxury of playing in an extremely weak Atlantic Division, home to four of the five worst teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Maple Leafs should lock down a playoff spot for the fourth straight year.

The Maple Leafs entered 2019-20 with major Stanley Cup aspirations, and after a scorching start under head coach Sheldon Keefe, who replaced Mike Babcock three months ago, they’ve quickly fallen back to earth.

Toronto has now dropped five of its last eight games, with two of those victories coming against unspectacular opponents like the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes in overtime. On home ice. Hard to give them much credit there.

The Maple Leafs’ frustrating inconsistency can be blamed in various ways. The porous play from the blue line, the injuries, the brutal start under Babcock and so much more. But one person who seems to get a pass more often than not is goalie Frederik Andersen, who’s enduring his worst season yet.

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Following Sunday’s stinker, a 5-2 road loss to the lowly Buffalo Sabres, Andersen now carries a woeful 2.93 goals against average and a mere .908 save percentage. Both those totals stand as career lows for Andersen.

Sure, the Toronto blue line has been a downright disaster for long stretches of the season. But the Leafs are averaging 3.50 goals per game, third-most in the NHL. With all of that offensive support in front of him, Andersen should be better.

Name me a Pittsburgh Penguins goalie who struggled with consistency while they were being blessed with three-plus goals per game under Sidney Crosby and company. Nobody is coming to mind for me.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs have received tremendous play from new backup Jack Campbell. The 28-year-old has gone 2-0-1 with a .918 save percentage and a superb 2.52 goals against average in three starts.

It’s a small sample size, sure. But Campbell also outplayed starter Jonathan Quick, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, for large portions during his time with the Los Angeles Kings. Campbell has never gotten the chance to be a No. 1 goalie, and maybe the Leafs can change that.

Otherwise, Toronto can stick with a veteran goalie who hasn’t looked like himself all season. And even if the Maple Leafs get to the postseason, they cannot trust Andersen to steal a series. He was not reliable enough during their Game 7 losses to the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the 2018 and 2019 playoffs.

Keefe has nothing to lose by giving Campbell more starts. Either the latter performs nicely and earns the No. 1 job, or he’s at least giving Andersen some much-needed rest ahead of the playoffs.

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But unless Andersen starts to regain his Vezina-like form, the Maple Leafs should really think about benching him in favor of Campbell. Otherwise, they risk throwing away another promising season.

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