It came as a blow to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goaltending depth as both Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard were given opportunities to succeed in a secondary role elsewhere.
The onus now lies on Garret Sparks alone to balance the workload behind Frederik Andersen and alleviate volume from his workload. Pressure will run high this weekend as Sparks most likely faces his first test of the season on Sunday versus Chicago on the second leg of a back-to-back situation.
Despite the obvious loss for Toronto’s organization and the Marlies specifically, not many people were happier than Sparks was for his now-former teammates.