NHL Draft 2022: Leafs trade goaltender Petr Mrazek to Blackhawks in salary-dump move

In a salary-dump move from Kyle Dubas and Co., the Toronto Maple Leafs traded goaltender Petr Mrazek, along with the No. 25 pick in this year's draft, to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 38th overall pick in 2022.

The Leafs did not have to retain any of Mrazek’s $3.8-million salary in the deal, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

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With the 25th pick, Chicago selected defenseman Sam Rinzel from the USHL's Waterloo Blackhawks. The Leafs will make the No. 38 pick in Round 2 on Friday.

Toronto has been rumoured to be trying to shed Mrazek's salary for quite some time now, and it ultimately took a trade-down deal with a team that just opened up a bunch of cap space on Thursday to get it done. The Leafs inked Mrazek to a three-year contract last summer worth a shade under $4-million per, a lofty price to pay for the .888% netminding Mrazek, who provided over 18 starts and 20 games for the team during an injury-plagued 2021-22 season.

Mrazek's intended platoon partner last year, Jack Campbell, is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, leaving the Leafs with a couple of spots to fill between the pipes if he does indeed walk for greener pastures. Shedding Mrazek's salary, however, gives the Leafs much more freedom to get a Campbell deal done if that's the route they choose to go, or offers flexibility to try and acquire his replacement — and potentially his backup — via trade, free agency or both.

Erik Kallgren is currently the only goaltender Toronto has under contract for next season.

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