October 16, 2009.
With the Monster (Jonas Gustavsson) sidelined already and Vesa Toskala off to a shaky start, things just got a whole lot worse in Toronto. Toskala was injured during Toronto’s Monday night game against the New York Rangers and is reportedly out for at least 10 days with a “knee” injury.
Do you really think this is a real knee injury? Or is it possible that this injury is due to a bruised confidence and is being used as a way to take some of the pressure off? It definitely seems a little convenient that this supposed knee injury comes at a time when he was about to be given the duties of warming the woodwork in lieu of Joey MacDonald’s first start with the club.
Vesa Toskala has posted a 5.57 Goals Against Average (GAA) so far this year, further improving on his GAA trend while with the Leafs; and by improving, I really mean continuing his slide down the slope to double digit GAA as he now surpasses the half way point on his quest towards ten. Since joining the Leafs for the beginning of the ‘07-’08 campaign, Toskala has posted a 2.74 (’07-’08) and 3.26 (’08-’09) GAA, a far cry from his 2.06 and 2.35 GAA days while splitting time in San Jose.
Which raises the question, is Toskala too comfortable here in Toronto?
In his eight year career, his best statistical numbers came from a period when he was splitting time with another high profile goaltender within the San Jose Sharks organization, Evgeni Nabokov. That makes me wonder if Toskala needs a competitive environment to thrive? If you look at his career statistics, his best and most consistent numbers are from when he was trying to prove himself and win the number one job from Nabokov. After joining Toronto and being handed the number one job on a silver platter, thanks to Andrew Raycroft, his numbers began to decline. Will this trend continue? I certainly hope not. Realistically his rough start to the season should settle down and bring his GAA back into 3.00 mark at least. However this doesn’t help the Leafs considering their lack of scoring talent up front, which means this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
With Toskala being the shy and quiet personality that he is, maybe he just can’t handle the pressures of being a number one goalie on the most highly scrutinized team in the NHL. He definitely has the potential to be a strong number one goalie, I just don’t think he has the personality to use that potential in a city like Toronto. Visa vie, he doesn’t have what it takes to bring the Leafs to glory. However, I do believe that Vesa Toskala would be a force to be reckoned with in a smaller market town like the Florida Panthers.
This brings me to my next point; offense wins games, but defense wins championships! If the Leafs are going to win a Stanley Cup in the next five years, they will need to make a change between the pipes. As stated before, Toskala doesn’t have what it takes to lead us to the promise land. If you look at the history of Stanley Cup winners over the last twenty to thirty years, one thing will quickly become noticeable; that is 85 to 90 percent of those winning teams possess a solid backstop. Whether that goalie was a flash in the pan posting career numbers for a year or was a future hall of fame inductee they had one thing in common, they were among the best at their position at that point in time. Here are those examples:
* Edmonton Oilers won five Stanley Cups in the ’80’s with a tandem of Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.
* Patrick Roy took the Montreal Canadians to winners circle in ‘92-’93, and then went on to do the same with the Colorado Avalanche in both ‘95-’96 and 2000-’01.
* Mike Richter posted career best numbers at 2.57 GAA and 91.0 Save Percentage (SV%) en route to the Rangers ‘93-’94 Cup win.
* Martin Brodeur carried the New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cups in ‘94-’95, ‘99-2000, and ‘02-’03.
* Chris Osgood backed the Detroit Red Wings in back to back Cup wins in both the ‘96-’97, ‘97-’98 and ‘07-’08 seasons. Dominic Hasek joined and aided Detroit to a Cup win in ‘01-’02 along with Osgood.
* Ed Belfour put up ridiculous stats in the ‘98-’99 push for the Dallas Stars eventual Cup win posting a regular season – 1.99 GAA and a 91.5 SV%; Playoffs – 1.67 GAA 93.5 SV%. Later to post some of the best goaltending numbers the Leafs have seen in recent years when he finished third among stat leaders in ‘03-’04 with a 2.13 GAA and a 91.8 SV%.
* Nikolai Khabibulin won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in ‘03-’04 when he posted a 1.71 GAA and a 93.3 SV% in 23 games during that playoff run.
* Cam Ward stepped up big in ‘05-’06 when as a backup during the regular season all he could manage was a 3.68 GAA and a 88.2 SV% in 28 games, however in the playoffs put up a 2.14 GAA and a 92.0 SV% in 23 games while taking the Carolina Hurricanes to the Cup in place of Martin Gerber who struggled to regain his form after sitting out with the flu early in the playoffs.
* JS Giguere with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in ‘06-’07 was one of the top five goalies in the league that year, later lifting the Stanley Cup that season.
* Finally, the most recent winner, Marc-Andre Fleury continued his solid play during his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Penguins to help take them to a Stanley Cup victory just last season in ‘08-’09.
After reading those examples, I don’t think any Leaf fan could picture Vesa Toskala being a part of that group, especially considering his track record with the Toronto Maple Leafs thus far. Of course that means one thing, he isn’t the right piece to the puzzle. All in all, Toskala has had his chance to make an impact in Leaf Nation and of all the games I’ve watched since he came in, only a few times could I actually say he stole the win for the Leafs. Of any great team, the goaltender always needs to steal approximately fifteen games a season for the team and at least a handful during the playoffs, something I have witnessed very rarely while Toskala has dawned the blue and white. Not to say he couldn’t turn it around at any moment and begin playing that kind of hockey; look at Cam Ward and what he did with the Carolina Hurricanes the year they won. Nevertheless, I just don’t see that happening.
Now as I said before, if the Leafs are going to make a Stanley Cup run within the next five years, there will need to be a goaltending change before it can happen. From what I have heard and seen thus far, Jonas Gustavsson could potentially be the answer to our troubles. At the age of just 24 (turning 25 on October 24th), Gustavsson was the top goalie last season in the Swedish Elite League (SEL) posting a 1.96 GAA and a 93.2 SV% with 3 shutouts (SO) during 41 games in the regular season. Furthermore, that same year he posted a 1.03 GAA, 96.1 SV% and 5 SO in just 13 games during the playoffs. Of course the jump from the SEL to the NHL isn’t an easy transition, so it will take him time to adjust. That being said, there is no telling how well the Monster could turn out in a couple years time, which could be the right time for the Leafs to make their next Stanley Cup run. They always say a goaltenders prime is the eight year stretch between the ages of 26 and 34.
Could this be the beginning of the stars aligning for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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