page_title: Garret Sparks
section_title: Toronto Maple Leafs (2015–2019)
hierarchical_section_title: Garret Sparks / Playing career / Toronto Maple Leafs (2015–2019)
caption_attribution_description: Photo: Christian Bonin
context_page_description: Garret Sparks is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing under contract to Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League. Sparks was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round, 190th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. As of 2020 he one of only 25 goaltenders in league history, and the most recent, to record a shutout in his NHL debut; Sparks is also the first Maple Leafs goaltender to do so. In 2018, Sparks was awarded the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award as the AHL goaltender with the lowest goals against average, which helped lead the Marlies to their first Calder Cup.
  Sparks' goalie equipment are a tribute to former NHL players Trevor Kidd and Curtis Joseph, who wore similar designs during their playing careers. He originally wore Curtis Joseph's #31 with Toronto, before Frederik Andersen joined the team and claimed the number.
context_section_description: Following a poor showing against the Washington Capitals after which Jonathan Bernier was publicly criticized by Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock in a post-game interview, Sparks was informed that he would make his first NHL start on November 30, 2015. In his debut, he recorded 24 saves and a 3–0 shutout win at home against the Edmonton Oilers, the first time in Maple Leafs history that a goaltender recorded a shutout in his debut. Sparks would play in the next few games before himself suffering an injury. After recovering, Sparks was sent down to the Marlies. He would see time as the Marlies' backup, as Bibeau had been playing strong. In an effort to earn Sparks more ice time, he was sent down to the Solar Bears. He would play one game for the Solar Bears before being brought back to the Marlies. In doing so, Sparks achieved a rare feat of playing in all three of the NHL, AHL and ECHL in the same season.
  On February 27, 2016, Sparks was called-up by the Maple Leafs following the trade of starting goaltender James Reimer. Sparks would play the remainder of the season with the Maple Leafs, recording disappointing numbers. Following the completion of the campaign, and with the Maple Leafs out of contention to qualify for the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, Sparks was sent down to the Marlies to help the first place team in their 2016 Calder Cup playoffs run. Despite being favourites to win, the Marlies would suffer a third-round exit to the Hershey Bears.
  In the off-season, Sparks was qualified by the Maple Leafs, in order to retain his negotiating rights. On July 15, 2016, Sparks signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Maple Leafs worth the league minimum $575,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level, with a guarantee of $150,000. In November 2016, Sparks was suspended indefinitely by the Maple Leafs for violating team policy after directing violent and sexist language toward a user in an online group. During an argument which took place in the group, Sparks wrote, "I want to go to open hockey with you, drag you out to center ice and beat you into a [expletive] pulp until you can't run that [expletive] little mouth of yours. God, you sound like a 13-year-old girl." When another member objected to Sparks' language, he added, "Girls don't even whine as much as this guy does." Sparks returned to the team later in December.
  During the 2017–18 AHL season, Sparks was named the AHL's goaltender of the month of January after he recorded a 5–0–0–1 record, including two shutouts. He was called-up to the NHL on an emergency basis in March, but was sent down without seeing any playing time. At the conclusion of the 2017–18 season, Sparks was voted the AHL's Top Goaltender of the season and named to the First All-Star team after amassing a 30–9–2 record and a league-leading .936 save percentage. On April 15, 2018, Sparks and fellow Marlies goaltender Calvin Pickard were awarded the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award.
  Sparks began the 2018–19 season in the NHL after the Toronto Maple Leafs placed goaltenders Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers, facilitating their departures from the organization. On March 5, 2019, Sparks signed a new one-year, $750,000 contract with the Maple Leafs effective for the 2019–20 season. Following a poor finish to the 2018–19 regular season in which Sparks lost 8 of his last 11 starts while posting a .895 save percentage, Sparks was effectively removed from the Maple Leafs roster after Michael Hutchinson was called-up from the Marlies to serve as Frederik Andersen's backup for the final game of the regular season. On April 5, 2019, it was announced that Sparks would be spending ten days practicing with Maple Leafs goaltender coach Steve Briere away from the team.
caption: Sparks with the Toronto Marlies during the 2018 Calder Cup Final
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