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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – The Maple Leafs’ stable of elite young forwards has been known to give even veteran NHL defenders fits. But they’re not the only ones. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and company are so fast and skilled on the ice they make one of their own goaltenders a little self-conscious, too.

“They kind of make me feel pretty embarrassed at times skating with them. It humbles me in a sense,” Leafs backup goalie Curtis McElhinney said Thursday after practice. “It’s one of those things where you’re just trying to keep up with them, and just by trying to do that I’m getting better.”

It was those same kids test-driving their newest shootout moves on McElhinney at the end of practice who convinced the journeyman backup Toronto was the right place for him. The 34-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Leafs last January from the Columbus Blue Jackets, playing in 14 games behind Frederik Andersen.

In June, Toronto re-signed the free agent to a two-year, $1.7-million contract. Toronto is the sixth NHL club McElhinney has played for since 2007-08, and he knows enough to recognize a good thing when he sees it.

“If I learned anything in the second half of the season, there’s just a lot of fun with the kids,” McElhinney said. “A lot of youthful enthusiasm, and we had some good things happen. I’d like to continue that. It’s always nice to come back to a place where you had a little bit of experience before, some familiarity with the guys and the systems that they’re trying to implement.”

The Leafs hope locking up McElhinney will help guard against what happened last fall with Jhonas Enroth. The goaltender was signed by the Leafs in the off-season but never thrived in the support role Toronto needed him to play. As McElhinney would learn when he arrived, the backup’s starts for Toronto tend to come on back-to-back nights, with tired skaters who usually travelled the night before playing in front of him.

Enroth lasted four starts – all losses ­– and appeared in six games before he was placed on waivers in December. McElhinney earned his first win in his second start for the Leafs, finishing the season with 2.85 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

“It’s important to have a guy who can really hold the fort for you, especially when you’re getting started in that second game of a back-to-back. We give him all the terrible starts,” head coach Mike Babcock said of the decision to bring McElhinney back. “He was just a good pro, brings it every day, and gave us some good opportunities.”

“I know that’s the position I’m in, and if everything goes well, in a perfect world those [back-to-backs] are my games,” added McElhinney. “I know what to expect. I get ready for it and you just want to get the results when you have those opportunities.”

McElhinney’s attitude made all the difference for Andersen, who had his own struggles at the start of last season in the midst of the Enroth drama. Andersen carried an even heavier load after his departure, with rookie Antoine Bibeau taking just two starts off his plate in December before the backup post was finally stabilized by McElhinney.

“He’s comfortable in his role which is really good for me,” Andersen said. “He started pushing me right away and we push each other now. He’s good when he’s called upon and has the mentality where he’s used to playing fewer games. He’s great in recognizing that you don’t stick around in the NHL for that long if you’re not a good team guy.”

An injury to Andersen last April thrust McElhinney into the starter’s net with three games remaining to clinch a postseason berth. His pad save against Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby that helped the Leafs punch their playoff ticket will be remembered as a defining moment of his NHL tenure.

“It was one of those proving points,” he said. “Where I’m at in my career, you don’t typically expect those starts. To have success there was really rewarding, just seeing all that hard work come together.”

Babcock had previously thrown out 60 as the number of starts he was aiming for with Andersen this season, but that number seems likely to increase based on how Andersen plays, how much rest he needs and where the Leafs are in the standings down the stretch.

Toronto has 13 back-to-backs throughout the season, down from 18 a year ago, which could mean a few less-terrible starts for McElhinney, too.

But the numbers have never been McElhinney’s focus. He’s made an entire career out of maximizing his moments, whenever they come.

“Nothing really gets to him,” Andersen said. “…He’s really relaxed and doesn’t get caught up in anything on the outside; he just goes about his business.”