Maple Leafs trade Mrazek, 25th pick to Blackhawks for No. 38

The Toronto Maple Leafs dealt goaltender Petr Mrazek and the 25th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for the 38th selection.

The Blackhawks used the 25th choice to take high-school defenseman Sam Rinzel.

Mrazek is under contract through 2023-24 with a $3.8-million cap hit. Toronto isn't retaining any of his salary in the deal, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said the move will allow Toronto to explore more possibilities in the crease.

"With the cap space we have now, every option is available to us, whether that's (Jack Campbell) or the others (in free agency) or via trade," he said, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel. "I think it opens up a lot for us."

Dubas added that he's comfortable with allowing young goaltenders Joseph Woll and Erik Kallgren to duke it out for the backup role, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. The executive is set to meet with Campbell in the coming days.

Mrazek, 30, went 12-6-0 with an .888 save percentage in 18 games with the Leafs this past season. It was his first campaign with the team after signing a three-year pact last July.

He's a 10-year NHL veteran who's also played for the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, and Carolina Hurricanes.

The Leafs now have approximately $10 million in cap space with pending unrestricted free agents including Campbell and Ilya Mikheyev, along with potential RFAs Rasmus Sandin, Pierre Engvall, and Ondrej Kase.

Chicago's two other NHL goalies, Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia, are pending UFAs.

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