Curtis Joseph
"Being a kid growing up just outside Toronto, you always want to play for your team you watched growing up, and Toronto's my team."
It was one of the last things Andrew Engelage said after a lengthy discussion at the Ricoh Coliseum, but it definitely resonated the loudest.
There's nothing quite like the story of the home-grown athlete. Everyone likes asking Oakville's John Mitchell what it's like to put on the Leafs sweater every day, or trying to find some way to relate to Jesse Blacker's being drafted by his local club. But when adversity is thrown into the mix, when a player has to go through some degree of hardship to make it to not only the level he wants to be, but for the team he wants to play for, that's when a story becomes a best seller.
In part two of his 12 burning questions series, Derek Harmsworth looks at the Leafs goaltending of the past, and whether this year's tandem can provide them with healthy, consistent efforts.
The NHL goaltender.
It has been said that there is no more important position in all of pro sports. Â And if you believe that, it's quite easy to see why the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't had much regular season success in the post lockout NHL, and why the post season has eluded them. [more…]
It was the same old story for the Maple Leafs last night. Another bad start, another power-play goal against, another game where they outshot the opposition badly, another good effort, but another loss. The Leafs dropped their fourth in a row, 4-2 to the last-place Carolina Hurricanes.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph announced his retirement today. He was perhaps the single-biggest piece of the Leafs' two runs to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002. Joseph retires as the fourth-winningest goalie in NHL history with 454 victories. [more…]
A month into the offseason, one thing can be said for sure about the steps the Toronto Maple Leafs have taken toward rebuilding the team:Â credit Brian Burke with having a plan, and sticking to it.
The beginnings of that plan are clearly reflected in the sweeping changes to the goaltending and defence corps this summer, as well as a noticeable infusion of truculence.
Even in the days of modern technology, many still profess that meteorology is an inexact science more guess work than theory. The very same can be said when scouting goaltenders. For every Mark-Andre Fleury (selected 1st overall in 2003) there’s a Brent Krahn (selected 9th overall in 2000). Meanwhile recent Vezina nominees and winners such as Tim Thomas, Mikka Kiprusoff and Evgeni Nabokov had to wait until the 217th, 116th and 219th selections respectively to see their names on the board. Indeed, the vast majority of netminders who started a game last season in the NHL had long waits deep into the second day to see their dreams realized while others went completely unnoticed only to resurface as free agents years later.
Let's take a break from the rumour mill, and have a look at where the Toronto Maple Leafs roster currently stands.
With the draft a little over a month away, and free agency beginning shortly thereafter, it's time to take a look at the current Maple Leafs' roster, who is and is not under contract for next season, and the resultant depth at each position.
Now that the 2008-09 regular season has officially ended, it's time to take a look back over the roster to assess each of the Maple Leafs' players.
Note that I'm only including players who finished the season with at least one game played for the Maple Leafs, and am excluding those traded away during the course of the season.
Statistics for those who were acquired mid-season reflect games played as members of the Maple Leafs only.
So you're Brian Burke and it's July 1st.
Who do you go after? And what is the contract you offer?
13 goals, 3 tenders, countless defensive errors and ugly goals. You almost felt sorry for Curtis Joseph after Jeff Carter cruised in for an easy breakaway goal and the camera panned to a thoroughly annoyed Ron Wilson. The Leafs would attempt a comeback of sorts after going down by six goals, but even with the best efforts of Martin Biron, it all went for naught.
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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…]
It appears Curtis Joseph, who let in four goals on nine shots last night, is not the second coming of Christ. Justin Pogge, who replaced Joseph mid-way through the second period, made 14 saves, allowing one goal in the 23 minutes and 30 seconds he played.
You what that means? It's Pogge time against the Boston Bruins tonight! If Pogge can hold the fort, he'll likely get the nod against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday – which will mark the final game of Martin Gerber's three-game suspension.
