2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs season
No Leafs fan wants to be reminded of that most hated of Finnish goaltenders, Vesa Toskala. He was ushered into the organization as the next great goalie that would surely be the one to finally right this sinking ship. As any fan will tell you, this has been a disaster. In the nature of looking back at previous Leafs from yesteryear, I’m going to show you just how bad Toskala truly was. All stats not specifically referenced are borrowed from BehindtheNet.ca.
We’ll start by taking a look at Toskala’s season in 09-10. Toskala ended his tenure with Toronto with a record of 7-12-3, appearing in 26 games. His save percentage was a ghastly .874 and his GAA was a monumental 3.66. You don’t need to follow hockey closely at all to glance at these stats and understand why they are so bad. This was a far cry from his stats in 07-08, where he had a .904 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA. Even his rather subpar 08-09 season was better, when he had an .891 save percentage and a 3.26 GAA. Could the Leafs being in second last place in the league have something to do with his decreased stats?
The Maple Leafs have traded G Vesa Toskala and F Jason Blake to the Ducks for G Jean-Sebastien Giguere. [more…]
After last night's impressive 4-0 victory over the Flyers, the Maple Leafs will attempt to build some momentum tonight versus the Capitals in Washington.
Surprisingly, the Maple Leafs, who have allowed a league-high 164 goals, have won two straight against the Capitals, who lead the league with 171 goals. However, the Caps won their only home game against the Leafs early in the season. [more…]
Leafs hope to hold off the league-best Washington Ovechkins at the ACC tonight, let's see if Toskala can hold up.
EDIT: Good start Vesa. [more…]
Tonight will be a Battle of Ontario, as the Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators in a Northeast Division bout. Vesa Toskala will get the nod in goal for the Leafs, while Pascal Leclaire will get the start for the Sens.
Update: Brendan Shanahan Officially Retires.
[more…]
It is their second meeting this year, and the first played a big part on blinding fans for both teams in the belief that each were elite competitors. Since that opening night, the Habs have on 5-7-0, while the Leafs have gone 1-7-2. But there are always upsides, and tonight marks to start to capitalize on those specifics.
[more…]
The following are the Leafs lines for tonight's game. Ron Wilson has shuffled the lines quite a bit and has looked to find some chemistry for a shooter to play with John Mitchell. He's hoping Jason Blake will fill the role while Jamal Mayers can provide some grit on the right side.
[more…]
Vesa Toskala and his fellowship of the underachievers will be entering Saturday night's game with the pressure of Leafs Nation bearing down on their shoulders.
Author: B Leaf
Last season, the Leafs were 10th in scoring (244) and 9th in shots on goal (2,603). There is no major reason why that number should drop other than the loss of Antropov. There are other players who should have better years and help fill his ice time with similar results. On the powerplay, the Leafs were middle of the road at 16th. The Leafs were a respectable 17th in shots allowed (2481), but were a league worst in goals against (286). The PK% was also a league worst. Not all the blame can be placed on the goaltending, but a lot of it can. The collective save percentage for the team was an abysmal .885%.
Vesa Toskala will rebound after his abysmal display of goaltending last season.
The Finnish goaltender was among fan favorites in Toronto during his first season with the Leafs. His flashy, acrobatic style of goaltending proved to be succesful, as he was arguably the Leafs' most valuable player in the 2007-08 campaign -- even ahead of Mats Sundin. Leafs fans were singing his praises, and hopes to attain the Stanley Cup Playoffs suddenly lifted. But when a goaltender, particularly one who relies on his acrobatics, succumbs to nagging groin and hip injuries, well, you get the product Leafs fans had to endure last season. So Toskala was shut down, and was forced to get surgery while Martin Gerber finished off the season -- and surprisingly well, too.
As the goals against continue to pile up, so do the questions regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs' future between the pipes. Last night's 7-5 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Bruins officially moved the Leafs to the basement of the NHL in terms of goaltending and defensive play with an astounding total of 274 goals allowed (3.41 GAA). Combine that with a league worst 88.4% save percentage and you've got some serious issues. The team directly above them? Andrew Raycroft and the Colorado Avalanche. Ugh. [more…]
The Habs' buns are burning red, Mikhail Grabovski is scorching hot, the Ottawa Senators have passed the Leafs in the standings, and Anton Stralman is filling the void left by teammate Tomas Kaberle. It's question time, folks.
