Is There A Method To The Madness? A Look At The Leafs Goaltending

Since I wrote my last post before the Christmas holidays, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped 3 straight games. Questions are once again arising about Vesa Toskala and the Leafs goaltending situation. Quite frankly, I am getting a bit tired of Ron Wilson rushing to Toskala's defense. It seems to me that he has given Vesa enough free passes. First there was the 8-2 pounding the Leafs took at the hands of the Dallas Stars right before the Christmas Break. According to Wilson, "none of the goals were his fault." Okay, I get that. The Leafs were dog tired having played in back-to-back games while Dallas was well rested. The whole team lacked energy and didnt show up to play. Free pass for Vesa.

The solution to that is simple enough right? Toskala just needs more rest. Unfortunately, after 2 days of rest and relaxation, the Maple Leafs were embarassed by the New York Islanders-current owners of the NHL's worst record. This time though, the team in front of Toskala was much better. The offense generated plenty of pressure, and Swedish shot-blocking machine Jonas Frogren was throwing his body in front of many a puck. However, a glaring difference in goaltending was obvious in this game. Rick Dipietro stood on his head all night for the Islanders, and even though the Leafs had the better scoring chances they were robbed countless times. At the other end of the ice though, Toskala was rather forgetable. A few weak shots bounced in and the end result is a 4-1 loss for the Leafs. Had Vesa been able to match the play of Dipietro at the other end, this game probably would have seen overtime and the Leafs may have stolen a point. Surely Wilson would bench him now right? Nope. Another free pass!

So that brings us to tonight's matchup against the Washington Capitals. Wilson was quoted before the game as saying that "Toskala is our number one goalie and we will stick with him." So with two free passes under his belt from his previous sub-par showings, surely Toskala will wake up right? He almost did-for one period. But after giving up a weak goal from Alex Ovechkin in the 2nd, the Leafs were deflated of all life, and cruised to another 4-1 defeat. I know Ovechkin is feared by all the leagues goaltenders, but Vesa had the angle on his shot and he was able to get a piece of it. All he had to do was control the puck once he had it. Those are the kinds of saves a team needs from their goaltender to keep them motivated. Will Vesa get a free pass for this one? Im guessing yes.

(Justin Pogge was excellent after being called up from the Marlies. Unfortunately, he wont get his shot until Toskala has played well enough to be taken in a trade.)

So this begs the question, why? It doesnt take an expert to see that Toskala does not have what it takes to be the Leafs number one goalie. This isnt an observation made after a few bad games. He has been inconsistent since the beginning of the year, and the Maple Leafs are nearly halfway through the season. So what are Ron Wilson and Brian Burke thinking when they continue to play Toskala over Justin Pogge, who was excellent in his NHL debut last week (which the Leafs won by the way)? Clearly, Pogge is not intimidated by the NHL, and the team seemed to get a boost from his big saves. Funny how that works eh? When the goalie can rob the opposition with a save he has no business making, his teammates are spurred on by this to turn their game up a notch. When Vesa is in net, you can almost see the life being drained from his teammates when he allows an easy goal on the first shot of the game.

I can only assume Brian Burke is thinking trade. Right now, the Leafs wouldnt be able to give Vesa away for free. He has zero trade value, so they are stuck with him and his big contract. The only way to sucker some poor unsuspecting team into taking him in a trade would be for him to improve his play. He has to show that he is capable of making the big save. Unfortunately for the Leafs-this means they have to play him. It seems like a long shot that he will actually turn his play around, but if he does-Brian Burke wont hesitate to pull the trigger on a trade. He knows that in order for the Leafs to move Toskala and give the reigns to Pogge, they have to find a way to get him playing decent hockey again.

So for those of you who are up in arms over Toskala continuing to start in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs-just relax. Watching him play is a neccessary evil we must go through in the hopes he will create some actual trade value. I have no doubt that the moment he shows he knows how to stop the puck, Brian Burke will trade him for whatever he can get. There is a method to the madness, and Pogge will have his shot.