October 8, 2009.
With the team announcing on Thursday that rookie netminder Jonas Gustavsson was placed on the IR with a groin injury the goalie controversy in Toronto is laid to rest...for at least another week.
Ever since the Leafs went out and signed Jonas in the offseason almost all of Leafs Nation have been hoping for the struggles that haunted Vesa Toskala last season would continue. Alot of pressure for the soft spoken Finnish goaltender who is in the last year of his contract.
In a city where the media spotlights seems to either make or break a goalie, Toskala looks destined to fall by the wayside with the likes of other Leaf backstoppers Allen Bester, Jiri Crha and Andrew Raycroft; good goalies who seemed to fold under the pressure of playing in hockey's hotbed. Being the last line of defence in Toronto is easy; win and you are treated like a god, lose and you will have plenty of volunteers lined up to drive you out of the city limits. Eddie Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Felix Potvin taking us deep into the post season still hold some of our fondest Leaf memories and are cherished by most fans; whispering the name "Raycroft" is now a punishable offence within the GTA.
The turning point in a season usually happens in December or January but I believe the Leafs turning point will happen on Saturday against the defending champions the Pittsburgh Penguins. Toskala will be the games first star and with veteran AHL callup Joey MacDonald backing him up Vesa will have a week reprieve knowing that the starters role is his ....for at least three games.
Hailed as a savior when he was acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the 2007 Entry Draft, Vesa is the only one in Toronto with a smile on his face seeing Gustavsson on the IR.
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