John Chayka is standing behind Sergei Bobrovsky after the Maple Leafs goaltender gave up 5 goals on 17 shots Wednesday night in Seattle.
“We have a lot of confidence in Bob, he's an elite competitor with a long track record of success,” the Leafs GM said.
He didn't stop there. “He holds himself to an incredibly high standard, and we know what he brings to our team.”
That's the statement a GM makes about his own signing. Chayka brought Bobrovsky in as a free agent, and nobody publicly second-guesses that kind of move before Halloween.
Wednesday still hurt. Gavin McKenna scored twice, Toronto put up 4 goals, and Brandon Montour's winner was one the veteran would love to have back.
It hasn't been a one-night problem, either. The 38-year-old is 3-5-2 with an .885 save percentage, and those aren't the numbers of a starter in a market like Toronto.
Anthony Stolarz has been better by a distance. He's 4-1-0 with a .907 save percentage.
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John Chayka breaks his silence on Sergei Bobrovsky after brutal Maple Leafs loss
Here's the part that stings. Chayka traded Joseph Woll, who's posting an .899 save percentage on a 3-8-4 Flyers team.
So the goalie Toronto moved out is stopping pucks at a better clip than the one it brought in, behind a worse club. Woll carries a $3,666,667 cap hit, while Bobrovsky sits at $7,000,000.
To be fair, it isn't all on the crease. Toronto has allowed 51 goals, tied for second-most in the league, and Chris Tanev remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
A GM defending his own free-agent goalie in October is like a guy swearing the used car he just bought runs great. He might even be right, but nobody expects him to say anything else.
Jim Hiller should hand Stolarz the net Saturday in Vancouver and make the veteran earn it back.
And if Hiller goes back to the veteran anyway? The Leafs are already on a two-game skid, so the margin for another soft one is thin.
The Leafs close out their western road trip against the worst team in the league. If the crease can't hold up in that one, Chayka's next statement might sound a lot different.
Should Jim Hiller start Anthony Stolarz over Sergei Bobrovsky on Saturday in Vancouver?
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