Toronto Maple Leafs sign Nick Chenard to amateur tryout

The Toronto Maple Leafs are going with another amateur tryout to solve their current backup goaltending woes.

The Leafs have signed goaltender Nick Chenard to an amateur tryout contract, and he will serve as the backup goalie for Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers.

The @MapleLeafs have signed G Nick Chenard to an amateur tryout agreement. He will serve as the club’s backup goaltender tonight.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) April 10, 2023

The Leafs were in a precarious situation with the salary cap that forced them to go this route for a backup goalie again. Matt Murray is currently hurt, but not for a long enough period to be on LTIR for the Leafs to get cap relief, and after signing Matthew Knies to an entry-level contract on Sunday, they don’t have the cap space to call up Joseph Woll either.

The Leafs were not eligible for an emergency recall for Monday’s game after technically playing a player short on their NHL roster on Saturday. There is currently no confirmation as to why they did not get a recall.

Chenard is an undrafted 21-year-old goaltender who spent this season with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL. He played 35 games for the Attack, with a 14-16-2 record and .873% save percentage, with an additional playoff game where he posted an .880 save percentage. Chenard also attended the St. Louis Blues development camp last year.

The Leafs had an ATO goalie for Saturday’s game as well, as University of Toronto goalie Jett Alexander served as the backup against the Montreal Canadiens. He ended up playing out the final 1:10 for the Leafs after they had a 7-1 lead in the game.

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe also confirmed that Knies will make his NHL debut tonight against the Panthers after signing his ELC on Sunday. Knies was the Leafs 2021 second round pick, and had 21 goals, 21 assists, and 42 points in 40 games this season for the University of Minnesota.

There’s also no word as to what the plan for the Leafs goaltending is on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. If they’re finally eligible for an emergency recall, then Woll will likely be the starter, but otherwise their options are likely either Samsonov playing three games in four days right before the playoffs or going to an ATO goalie for the start.