The Toronto Maple Leafs, Just A Goaltender Away.
Last season the Toronto Maple Leafs finished in the bottom third of the NHL but believe it or not they are just one goaltender away from contention. Yes they need a few other parts but all in all they have a solid team. They just stole 6′5″ 240 pound defenseman Mike Komisarek from their arch rivals the Montreal Canadiens to help shore up their defensive unit. He brings a lot of toughness and grit. But everybody knows that without top goaltending you are just wasting everyone’s time an Toronto’s goaltending was far and away the worst of any team in the NHL this past seaosn
The Leafs are pursing swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson, the 24 year old who has NHL scout’s and GM’s drooling. His stats from Sweden, if we follow the trend of previous goaltenders who have made the jump, point to him as an above-average NHL netminder. As a rookie, he’ll be eligible for only an entry-level salary, so he won’t break the bank. That’s also what makes him so attractive. If they fail to land Gustavsson a longshot possibility is Jean-Sebastien Giguere, with whom Leafs GM Brian Burke has a prior relationship from their time together in Anaheim. Giguere would come with a $6 million contract and that would make it almost impossible to fit him in under the salary cap.
The Leafs drafted a gifted center in Nazim Kadri. Toronto is counting on Kadri to make an impact in his rookie season. Kadri outplayed his teammate and number one overall pick John Tavares in several of the London Knights’ playoff games. Kadri has a great stick and great vision. He’s big, lanky and skilled. He uses his size to accentuate his puck skills. Size, reach, stick handling ability, Kadri has the kinds of stick movements that hockey legend Mario Lemieux used to make famous. Kadri had bad patches last season, but some of it can be ascribed to a broken jaw and weight loss in early winter.
Toronto has some snipers that they can count on like Mikhail Grabovski, Jason Blake and Alexei Ponikarovsky, but the Leafs desperately need a top notch scorer to solidify a young offensive unit. I know no one wants to hear it but Ottawa Senators disgruntled forward Dany Heatley could be exactly what GM Brian Burke is looking for. If Toronto gets some decent goaltending they’ll make the playoffs. If they get the scorer they desire they could make a run in the playoffs.
Jul 4th, 2009 at 7:10 am
The Toronto Maple Leafs are as far as I am concerned, a laughing stock of a NHL hockey team. This year Brian Burke is trying to put together a hard hitting rough team. The only thing that this teams has going for them is their fan base. Yes Toronto is a fantastic city for sport followers. But as well let’s all understand,their sport franchises are at the bottom of the pile. Yes Toronto just signed defense man Mike Komisarek from the Montreal Canadiens ,but as one saw in the past few years he can be strong in the corners but 1 on 1 coming down center ice it is quite easy to turn him inside out . His back pedaling leaves a lot to be desired. Jonas Gustavsson may fall into an entry -level salary category but for sure it’s going to take big money to sign him.
Jul 4th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Slim Jim, you’re a laughing stock.
David, I’m with you: PLAYOFFS!!!1
Jul 4th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
To Eyebleaf,
This is exactly what I mean. Here is a die heart Toronto Maple Leaf fan. Knows nothing about hockey ,but believes in his home team. Get real Mr.Eyebleaf,wake up and smell the coffee.
Jul 4th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
slim jim… slight problem with your statement about “big money to sign” Gustavsson. If he’s forced into an entry level deal he can’t sign for “big money”. He can talk about it sure, but I’m guessing very few teams will offer him the key to the city before they’ve seen him play a game in the NHL.
He wants to be an NHL backup, not the second coming of Henrik Lundqvist…. which is frankly more realistic than the pap I read in this blog posting (don’t take that personally David).
Either way, the Leafs are a long way away from making the playoffs right now, and it’ll take more than an import backup goalie with one “monster” year in Sweden and a selfish idiot like Dany Heatley to get them there.
Jul 4th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I echo slim jim’s statements: eyebleaf, you know nothing about hockey.
That being said, PLAYOFFS!!!1
Jul 4th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Ah, I see my post was edited, since I wrote, “eyebleaf, you know nothing about hockey, despite writing about it in every other post.” Now I look like a jerk. Or at least, a bigger one.
Anyway, as for Nazem Kadri, I don’t think Burke and co. are anticipating Kadri to make a huge impact in rookie camp and training camp. I think they realize he needs another year in junior at the very least because for one, Kadri has to grow and become stronger. Luke Schenn, if we remember, impressed in camp because he was a) a defenceman, and b) pretty much NHL size at being a good 200 lbs, before adding even more muscle as the season wore on. Kadri is a whiles away.