After striking a deal to send goalie Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs just under three weeks ago, the Anaheim Ducks made another goalie trade with Toronto. Jonathan Bernier, Toronto's oft-injured No. 1 goaltender last season, is headed to Anaheim in exchange for a conditional 2017 draft pick.
According to James Mirtle of the Globe & Mail, the Maple Leafs and Ducks have been talking about such a deal for months. The reason Bernier was not included in the Andersen trade initially is likely due to the $2 million bonus the now former Maple Leafs goalie was due on July 1.
Bernier was not included in the Andersen trade because Leafs had to pay a $2-million bonus on July 1. But that's essentially what happened.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 8, 2016
So in essence, this completes the trade that initially occurred three weeks ago.
Bernier has one year remaining on his contract, which will see him earn $4.15 million next season. The Ducks had plenty of cap space to absorb the contract and Bernier will be reunited with former Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle, who is now in charge of Anaheim.
After Mike Babcock arrived in Toronto, Bernier didn't seem to have all that long a leash. He didn't do himself any favors, though, struggling right out the gates to start the season. On top of that, he battled through various injuries that cost him a lot of time to get things back on track. When he did play, however, the results were pretty terrible for the league's last-place team.
Bernier posted a .908 save percentage in 38 games for Toronto last season. At one point, he was sent to the American Hockey League just to try to get some confidence. It's been a relatively quick downward tumble from his first year in Toronto after he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in a trade ahead of the 2013-14 season. That year, Bernier put up a .923 save percentage in 55 appearances. The numbers have dropped substantially in the last two seasons.
More than likely, he is an expensive backup for John Gibson, who is the goaltender the Ducks have essentially tabbed as their goalie of the present and future after dealing Andersen away. It will be interesting to see how Carlyle utilizes the goalies given his familiarity with Bernier and the fact that he was behind the bench during the veteran goaltender's best NHL season.
There's no doubt that Bernier will be in a better team situation as the Ducks have a superior lineup to the one he was playing behind in Toronto. He'll also have the motivation of playing on the final year of a contract before he is eligible to become a UFA. Will that be enough for him to rediscover his game, though? And will he even get enough reps to prove he can be a No. 1 again?
Anaheim should still be focused on developing Gibson to be their long-term No. 1. Having a veteran insurance policy to get through a season during which the team remains well within its Stanley Cup window isn't a bad thing, especially since they have the cap space.
In the bigger picture, Bernier's trade out of Toronto represents another tie to the team's previous regime severed. The goaltender was brought in after enjoying great success in limited action while backing up Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles, with the Leafs expending Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second-round draft pick to acquire him. It was a relatively low-risk deal that worked initially, but the hopes of Bernier being the team's No. 1 quickly deteriorated.
The Maple Leafs makeover still probably has a few more years to go, but the Brendan Shanahan-Lou Lamoriello executive tandem has been making a ton of moves that allow them to put their own stamp on the team. Now we'll have to find out if their efforts bring some success. It's not a high bar to do better than their most recent front office predecessors.
