Curtis McElhinney, claimed on waivers, becomes latest Maple Leafs backup

The spot reserved for backup goalies on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ bench will see another new face this week after Curtis McElhinney was claimed on waivers Tuesday.

The 33-year-old goaltender was waived on Monday by the Columbus Blue Jackets following his only real bad appearance this season in a 5-4 loss to the New York Rangers. There’s also the fact that the organization was ready to reward Anton Forsberg for a fantastic start for their AHL affiliate in Cleveland.

Antoine Bibeau (two starts) and Jhonas Enroth (four starts) haven’t done enough to cement a spot behind Frederik Andersen for the backup job in Toronto. Meanwhile, Karri Ramo’s been on a PTO with the AHL Marlies since December but a knee injury will keep him out until next month.

McElhinney is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, so this is another low-risk move by the Maple Leafs to try and figure out the backup role on the roster. But sooner or later there needs to be a solution because Andersen has already made 33 starts and should get some rest in the second half as Toronto’s seeks out a playoff berth.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy