Maple Leafs waive Petr Mrazek, sign fellow goalie Harri Sateri

Mrazek is in the first year of a three-year contract he signed with the team in the summer, and is making $3.8 million a season. He was brought in to be a reliable second option behind Jack Campbell, but has been anything but thus far.

In a season that started with a few injuries, Mrazek failed to get consistent starts while Campbell surged, and when he did, he struggled to keep the puck out of the net. Despite a 10-6 record, Mrazek has an .884 save percentage, the fourth-worst among goalies with at least 10 appearances this season.

Mrazek has been placed on waivers in part to create salary-cap flexibility ahead of the deadline. He has also been outperformed by rookie Erik Kallgren, who was called up just to be the backup for Mrazek with Campbell injured. Kallgren made his NHL debut last week against the Arizona Coyotes, when he came in relief of Mrazek after the Leafs were down 4-1.

The Leafs also placed forward Kyle Clifford and goaltender Harri Sateri on waivers. Clifford was acquired by the team earlier this season from St. Louis, and recently signed to a two-year extension.

Sateri was signed to a one-year, league minimum ($750,000) contract to close out the season. He needs to clear waivers first because he played in Europe this season.

Sateri, 32, was sublime in Finland’s run to a gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, with a 5-0 record and a .962 save percentage. He has nine games of NHL experience with the Florida Panthers in 2017-18, with a .911 save percentage in those games. Overall, Sateri has struggled in North America throughout his career. This season, Sateri posted a .926 save percentage in 38 games with Novosibirsk in Russia’s KHL.

Sateri was one of eight players placed on waivers on Sunday. The Anaheim Ducks also claimed forward Gerry Mayhew from Philadelphia, while Nashville’s Philippe Myers and Winnipeg goaltender Philippe Desrosiers cleared waivers.