The Maple Leafs have sent Artur Akhtyamov back to the Toronto Marlies after bringing him up for a brief stretch of goalie insurance.
With Toronto in the middle of a busy run, the club added Akhtyamov from the AHL to help cover behind Anthony Stolarz as the team headed to Columbus for a quick road game, giving Sergei Bobrovsky time to rest. After picking up both games on Monday and Tuesday, Toronto is now set to host the Rangers on Thursday and chase a third straight win, but Akhtyamov will be back with the Marlies by then.
The move down comes because the Leafs no longer need the extra depth right now. They also have EBUG Brandon Bonello available if things were to go seriously wrong.
Akhtyamov has been solid for the Marlies this season while sharing time with Samuel Hlavaj. He owns a 2-1-0 record with a 2.94 GAA and .882 SV%. He also won the Calder Cup MVP after helping the Marlies win the championship with a 15-7-0 record, a 2.22 GAA and .923 SV%.
Toronto views him as part of the next wave in goal, especially in a crease situation that is among the older tandems in the league. His NHL numbers are not strong, but the source of that is tied to a bad team last year.
The bigger question is when he gets another shot. If he keeps playing the way he has, it feels like only a matter of time. Goaltending injuries and hiccups show up every season, and that opens the door for a call-up like this to become more than just a one-night safety net.
The ideal scenario for Toronto is simple: give Akhtyamov a chance in a better environment than he had before, and let him learn while working around Bobrovsky, one of his idols. If another back-to-back comes up, or if the team is rolling and wants to test the momentum in net, he could get a look.
For now, the Leafs don’t need him. But the expectation is that his NHL chance is coming, and Toronto may want to find out what it has before other teams start looking at his value.
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