from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,

...today’s topic will be the quality of Toronto’s NHL goaltending staff. Blame Neuvirth. He started it by talking to a Czech newspaper and blabbing that he’s signed a professional tryout offer with the Leafs. Neuvirth’s not the reincarnation of Jacques Plante, but he’s also not a total stiff. He’s 31 years old and looking for work, has played for four NHL teams and most of the time has been a pretty competent netminder.

Neuvirth played for Dave Hakstol and the Philadelphia Flyers last season, and presumably now that Hakstol’s an assistant to Mike Babcock with the Leafs, he was asked about Neuvirth and didn’t say bringing him in on a PTO would be about as useful as that time Devin Setoguchi came in for a look-see.

That said, it might be. Neuvirth was lousy in his brief workload with the Flyers last year, but we can probably agree Philly hasn’t exactly been a place where goalies go to thrive since, well, the days of Pelle Lindbergh. Carter Hart might be the next great Flyers goalie, but he’ll have to hack his way through kilometres of Philadelphia goaltending scar tissue to get there.

So the Leafs are bringing in Neuvirth because Garret Sparks failed as the backup to Andersen last year, and nobody’s convinced Michael Hutchinson is capable of unseating Sparks. Notice, by the way, we didn’t say Sparks has proven he can’t do the job. He’s been a late bloomer throughout his career, and anybody who has tracked him through junior and pro hockey wouldn’t be surprised if he bounced back.

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