Leafs/Sabres Post-Game: Toskalol
It may be righteous laughter because you’ve been saying it all along: “Toskala won’t bounce back this year”. It could also be nervous laughter because you think to yourself: “no way he keeps this play up…right?”. It may just be maddening, maniacal laughter as you cry out: “well we all knew this season just could not get off to a perfect start for my Maple Leafs”. Any way you cut it, there is no satisfied, back-slapping laughter celebrating the accolades of Vesa Toskala. This is what you would have hoped for among the legion of Toronto supporters to start the 2009-2010 campaign. Sadly, our Finnish tender has left us wanting. Tonight’s 7-6 debacle against the Buffalo Sabres was just more of the same.
Here are some quick notes from this Sunday night shootout:
-Outside of tonight’s goaltending woes, you had to be happy with the offensive resilience of the Leafs. Ron Wilson tried out some new line combinations in an effort to get Nikolai Kulemin going while seeing how Viktor Stalberg fit in on Grabovski’s wing. The top six (Blake-Stajan-Kulemin, Hagman-Grabovski-Stalberg) had a good showing overall. It is clear that Niklas Hagman is a great complement for pretty much anybody with his hockey smarts and excellent puck-handling skills. It will be up to the coaching staff to iron out the specifics otherwise. Regardless, with another solid outing, Viktor Stalberg has to have a roster spot with his name on it.
-The third line of Wallin-Mitchell-Stempniak was one of the best on the ice tonight. The trio buzzed around all night long with impressive success, including a pair of goals from the oft-criticized Stempniak. Ron Wilson showed confidence in this group as they were out late in an effort to tie up the game. The chips are falling in a well-defined pattern at this point, and you can be fairly confident the third line will look something like this come Thursday.
-The story of the night, tomorrow, and the coming days will be Vesa Toskala’s game (or lack thereof). Management will take the path of least resistance in this case and give Toskala his fair shake. This will involve giving him full command of the Leafs goaltending ship. We can only mention that “he clearly has the skill” so many times before the claim becomes an empty motto of the downtrodden. It is very simple: Toskala will have to start showing some results. Unlike last year, where there were no suitable replacements, Brian Burke has done his job and brought in Gustavsson. The Monster looks to be capable of ousting Toskala from his throne. He will do so unless “VeTo” starts to play like a number one goaltender in the NHL.
With this firefight-finish to the preseason, the excitement will only continue to mount as October 1st approaches. The Leafs have played an inordinate amount of games in the past few weeks, and are going to spend the next few days on a team-bonding retreat. The last cuts will soon be made public, and we will finally get a picture of what the opening night roster will look like for the 2009-2010 Toronto Maple Leafs.
As always, interested to hear your thoughts.
Cheers,
Nikhil
NikhilDaljeet@MapleLeafsHotStove.com
September 28th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Oops, forgot to post this link.
http://www.capgeek.com/reserve_lists.php?Team=4
September 28th, 2009 at 11:03 am
@Burn,
Good points. Hence the reason why they dropped Andy Rogers. I guess if I had to argue, I would state that Schremp has a significantly higher upside than any of the guys you mentioned, and that this is the best time to grab him since he will still be an RFA next year, and the Oil will retain him if he has a bounce back year. We do not have too many top-six potential forward prospects, and this may be a good opportunity to add one. But then again, looking at examples like Stalberg, perhaps it is wiser to look for pleasant surprises from within.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:11 am
@Wook,
Problem is, why he hasn’t made the Oilers, is that he is extremely one dimensional. He’s extremely soft and a liability in the defensive zone. That isn’t the kind of team Burke is trying to build to.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:19 am
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September 28th, 2009 at 11:20 am
@Burn,
I agree. However, for every gritty and defensively accountable forward, there is also room for a highly skilled, yet, defensively brutal forward like Kessel. As for the reasons behind him not making the Oilers:
O’Sullivan – Horcoff – Hemsky
Moreau – Comrie – Pisani
Penner – Gagner/Cogliano – Nilsson
September 28th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Both of you make excellent points..
@ Burn re: Toskala – I don’t know the exact stats, but I seem to recall Toskala going on a huge winning streak just before he was shut down for the season.
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Don’t get me wrong – overall, he was dreadful last year. I just think there is still hope for him. He has proven that he can be an excellent tender, but he has yet to prove he can be a great one over the course of a full season. Hopefully he gets it together..
September 28th, 2009 at 11:48 am
What about this Kadri kid, eh?
Super impressed with this kid on and off the ice. Great pick. Can tell he was raised right. I was sketchy back in June, I have no concerns now. Can’t wait for the days of Kadri to Kessell.
September 28th, 2009 at 11:59 am
@ Wook,
Kessel isn’t brutal defensively. All the scouting reports have said that he’s much improved defensively. Plus he scored 36 goals in 70 games. Schremp hasn’t shown he can do that, which would allow him to “slide” a bit on the defensive side. Right now there isn’t anyone on the Leafs that they would take out in favor of Schremp, and he’s not significantly better than what we have on the Marlies.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I think Burkie takes a shot at Schremp, could end up as sweet revenge towards Lowe.
September 28th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I don’t think we get a chance. What do the Islanders have to lose by taking a shot?
September 28th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
It’s worth a shot to pick up Schremp. Even if someone grabs him off waivers on the way to the Marlies, Burke still steals Lowe’s first round pick from 2004. And if he does clear waivers I’m sure the Marlies would love to have him. He is extremely skilled.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I saw Schremp play in London a lot and he does have mad skills, but I agree with rustynail, why wouldn’t the Isles take a chance on him. They don’t have much depth in their top 6 so to give him a chance on one of the top two lines is a nothing to lose proposition.
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I think whoever gets him may get a guy who is very determined to prove Edm wrong. He thinks he got blackballed and screwed over thier and will be very motivated to prove Lowe and co. wrong. Someone could get a steal, and if not, cut him. Nothing lost.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I meant “screwed over there” not thier.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
wow – tough crowd…
@ Falcon and Matt K and others – please guys, just relax..
Last time Toskala came off a serious surgery, it took him til mid November, splitting starts with Raycroft – before he established himself as a solid starter. Toskalas problem has ALWAYS been staying healthy, not his skillset or capabilities.. He at one point had won and taken over the starters role in SJ (vs Nabokov) until – yes, he got injured and lost his job to Nabokov..
His career numbers are as follows:
GP = 234
W/L/T/OT = 120/70/5/22
SP = 0.905
GAA = 2.67
This is a guy who has had a starters job on many occassions and put up very good numbers.. again, his issue is staying healthy, not whether he can be a good starter in the league..
Anyone writing off this goalie because of a rough pre-season, after coming off 3 separate surgeries – does not have a proper perspective..
It may take til November for Toskala to get completely back to form – which is why I would prefer starting Gustuvvson more early on and easing Toskala back in – but, the politics are what they are, and the Leafs will likely not go this route..
September 28th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
sunlight limits northern contribute ppm…
slowly solutions simulations per security down…
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