Leaning On The Finn

The Maple Leafs are riding Vesa Toskala and riding him hard.

But, particularly with 15th place in the Eastern Conference now secured, does it make sense to do so?

At least one emailer, Paul McDougall of New York City, doesn't think so. Moreover, he thinks its simply a survival technique for head coach Paul Maurice as he desperately tries to hang on to his job.

Toskala, with chronic groin problems, made his 15th start in 16 games last night against the injury-ravaged and slumping Islanders in a crushing 5-4 defeat. Since coming back against Anaheim Jan. 9th in relief of Andrew Raycroft, Toskala has started every game except a Jan. 20 date at New Jersey.

And the Leafs are no further ahead over that period of time. In fact, after being passed by Tampa last night, they're dead last in the east, and just four points ahead of 30th place L.A. for dead last in the entire NHL.

Quite clearly, Toskala is the No. 1 goalie with this team, so that's not in dispute. With two years after this season left on his contract, he will be needed to both carry the team and to help apprentice Justin Pogge.

Toskala has been mostly very good, while Raycroft hasn't won a game since November, so its not hard to see why Maurice keeps calling the Finn's number. Moreover, San Jose is playing Evgeny Nabokov pretty much every minute, while the likes of Marty Brodeur, Miikka Kiprusoff and Roberto Luongo are shouldering heavy loads.

Why not Toskala?

Well, there is the groin issue. As well, winning games now is meaningless, and arguably counter-productive as the Leafs move into prime position in the Steven Stamkos Cup.

No one's saying don't play Toskala. But every single game, including back-to-backers?

Shouldn't Raycroft have been in last night against the Islanders? If there's no confidence at all in him, then bring up Pogge for an NHL start, or Scott Clemmensen.

In fact, if I'm Cliff Fletcher, Pogge is up for Saturday night's game against the Boston and he's starting, not just watching as was in the case in that silly west coast exercise several weeks back.

Toskala, quite simply, is too valuable right now for the Leafs to risk over-playing him and injuring his tender groin muscles.

How about two out of every three games? Six out of every 10 the rest of the way? That would make sense. He's No. 1, but this team will need him to be rested, healthy and ready to go in October, not now.

Riding the Finn hard now won't help this team move forward.

Comments

[peter]

Totally agree with Damien. the season is down the drain and why injure permanently your
best goalie. I don't get to watch many games here in New York but that was another lame
effort by the team last night. Hal Gill looked like he was on valium out there and the Leafs
forwards with the exception of Sundin and Antropov are all substandard. they are in last place
because they are bad and no amount of spin or we've given a good effort means a thing.

[Joe]

Actually, seeing as how Toskala hasn't ever or has only rarely played a full season as a number one goalie it does make sense to ride him hard.

If your expecting him to be your no. 1 next year it would be beneficial for him to get a taste of what it's like taking on the haul of a season.

[Sean]

Damien... are you the only level headed writer in Toronto? lmao. Frankly, at this point in the season I cannot see how T.O can justify its repeated claims of being within arms reach of the playoffs.. Let's face it, the reality of the situation is that the Leafs have been under-prepared each season following the entire polar shift of the game following the new CBA and rule changes. And as a leafs fan, I'm sick and tired of the philosophy the Leaf owners have taken, where they will play with the emotions of their fans just to fill the seats, and increase subscriptions for Leafs T.V. I say enough with the drama... Leaf Nation is exhausted and losing patience with your flawed management strategies. Kudos to the leafs players, you tried... Shame on Leaf Management/Ownership... you failed miserably!

[Heaton]

Toskala, is not a big man. He is listed as 5-10 but probably closer to 5-9. He is a number one goalie who can maybe at very best play 3 out of 4 and certainly should not be playing 15 of 16.
Maurice should be fired. He has yet to bench the likes of Tucker, Blake or McCabe even once during the season. Beyond be-leaf!!

[Hockey Fan, therefore by Definition Not a Leaf Fan]

Much more importantly than the Laffs, what is wrong with Montreal and Ottawa?. Ottawa finally looked great against my Habs, then tanked against Buffalo. Is the trade they made enough to get them over the hump against Detroit and Anaheim? As for Montreal, what is going on? They have looked awful since they beat Ottawa last week. Their goaltending scares me. Huet looks really tired and is letting in soft ones (two of Tampa's and 4 minutes worth of Ottawa), but Price is awful with rebounds. Why is Halak not playing? He has had two games all year.

[Gman]

Spot on, Damien. In fact, watching Toskala man the ramparts this season has made me reassess the often bad play the Leafs of recent vintage committed in front of Eddie Belfour, and Eddie should be given much more credit than he's gotten that those Buds squads made it as far as they did in the post-season.

It's hard for me to pin the abysmal nature of so much of this year's team on empirical lack of skill alone. I think the coaching staff has to take much more heat for not hammering out the unintentionally entertaining anti-genius the Leafs have displayed on special teams this year. That factor alone is enough to give Paul Maurice his pink slip.

[Steve Barnett]

Interesting concept Damian, although you will be accused of throwing in the towel on the year in order to get Stamkos..Now we all know Raycroft should never play another game in a Leaf sweater. Can you explain why Cliffy has not at least put Raycroft on waivers and brought up Clemmenson or Pogge? Is he afraid of ruining the "chemistry" in the room? Or is he listening to Greg Gilberts pleas of "no please! what did I ever do to you?" Obviously we have to eat Razors contract or leave him at the Ricoh until he discovers what ever JFJ saw in this guy and becomes tradeable. For sure you are not going to see Raycroft during this home stand. The crowd would be merciless in thier taunting. I agree, bring up Pogge and let him have a few starts. If you bring Clemmenson up it looks like your tanking the year. With Pogge it looks like your evaluating. Toskala is the best thing to happen to this team in years. He is the real deal and gives us a least a glimmer of hope for the future. And on another note it is nice to see Fergie land on his feet. The poor guy was set up to fail by Dick Peddie and never had a chance to do things his way. Dick will deny this till the cows come home. But we all know this guys ego knows no bounds. And is it just me or does Cliffy looks scared stiff everytime he'shown sitting up in the box? It looks like he is saying to himself "Jesus Christ, what am i supposed to with this pile of crap?"

[Don]

It's hard to argue with you on this point Damien. I have been saying the same for a couple of weeks. Obviously, PM and the Leafs have given up on Raycroft, so why not bring up Clemmenson?
The new GM is going to want to bring in his own coach, so there's really not much PM camn do to save his job anyway.

[Dr. Spin]

Can I offer up some new quote material for Maurice?
"If our team played in the Southeast Division, we'd only be 7 points out of 3rd in the conference, rather than 8 points out of 8th."
You see, it's all in the perception!
Toskala, Raycroft, Clemensen, Pogge; what difference does it make if the bums ahead of them can't clear the puck or put it in the other team's net?

[William]

I don't know if Paul Maurice is a good coach or not but I am starting to call into question playing a goalie is not far removed from injury. My mistrust began when in Anaheim and the game lost after 2 periods Paul Maurice puts in Toskala! I don't fault Paul Maurice for the Leafs failed season because I believed this team was really this bad. But why use Toskala in back to back games. I am with you Damien, if he can't use Raycroft, bring in Pogge or Clemmensen and give Raycoft rest of the season off.

[Mark Penstone]

I agree that we should not overwork Vesa but I also think we need to send Raycroft to the minors to help him get some confidence back. A couple of weeks with the Marlies would do him wonders and let this kid work through his problems. Having him sit on the bench every day is doing nothing for Raycroft or the Leaf's.

[Ankur Arora]

Hey Damian

How bad you think the leafs will be losing, if ( which is a big IF)the trade the bunch of bums they have right now?. I dont know why people are praising Mats for wanting to stay, he is a hockey player and hes main goal should be to win, and for the Toronto Maples Leafs to win, he needs to be traded for that to happen, he can go and win something (which he has not done at the NHL level accept few playoff series )and leafs go and hopefully win the lottery.

[Brian Seddon]

You are spot on, as usual.
Why can't Cliff Fletcher say outright not to play Toskala in any further games this season in order to allow him a complete recovery for next season. This would then take the pressure off Maurice to play him, and put the blame on further losses squarely on to the underachieving players on this team.
Then bring up the Marlie goalies for a short experience, or play Raycroft. After all, he is being well paid, play or not.

[smokey]

Raycroft is simply not an NHL goalie and by playing him, the Leafs are handling the other team 2 points. This is not fair to the other teams nor the other Leafs. The Leafs should though bring Clemenson up and let him play some games to give Vesa some rest when needed.

I doubt the Leafs want to risk any permanent injury to maybe their best player, Toskala.

[Dave]

The one guy who is somehow escaping criticism is Paul Maurice. The Leafs are in the bottom 5 in both powerplay and penalty killing - the only team in the league to have this distinction. I would expect the new GM to replace the entire coaching staff.

[Tammy]

I agree as well. Toskala has been outstanding at times for the Leafs and solid overall but c'mon - he's no Brodeur and Luongo and the amount of starts he's getting is ludicrous. It's not that he doesn't deserve the starts, it's simply that he's going to get so overworked that it'll take him all summer to rucuperate and he'll be behind the ball for next season.

Our two million dollar backup is on pace for 24 starts. Talk about overpayment. And I agree Damian, call up Pogge. The pressure of collecting a win is now off his shoulders, why not call him up now to gauge where he's at in his development?

[Guelphdad]

It won't help Toskola, won't help the team and in the long run won't help. Why not bring Pogge up now? Are they worried about how the Marlies will fare without him? If he's going to be up next year with the club why not get any "welcome to the NHL youngster" gitters out of the way now. See what he can do one game out of three. I'm not sure he has anything left to prove in the AHL, are they worried they'll damage his mindset if left to flounder at the parent club? Guess what? they aren't going to be appreciably better in front of him next year. But he'll have that confidence moving forward that he's played 10 or so games with the big guys.

[Ross in Regina]

Yup, it's time for Pogge. Why not? May as well get him a few starts and see if he's any good at the NHL level. Cause if he's not, then we've got another problem!

[danu]

I guess maurice won't let raycroft start any more home games, because the fans will be on him from the start. that's what a 2-12 record will do for you. although if we really want that no. 1 draft pick, raycroft is the one that could single-handedly make it happen!

[mark]

Can someone explain to me why Maurice still has a job? Fletcher should fire him an appoint an interim coach. The new GM starts with a clean slate. As for Pogge coming up for a cup of tea... why not? If Tukka Rask can play in the NHL why not Pogge? Or, maybe Damien's right. Maurice is concerned about retaining his job and won't play a rookie netminder. All the more reason to fire him now.

[Kevin]

I agree completely. Besides, if Cliff Fletcher has any hope of trading Raycroft (which should be the plan), then he needs to play him and hope he plays reasonably well. If that happens, there's a chance that Raycroft's trade value will increase. There's no risk in this move, either, as I can't imagine Raycroft's trade value DEcreasing from where it is now: A bag of pucks, and two water bottles, I figure.

[Laura Leduc]

Are the Leafs suppose to say publicly they have given up on this season? Putting Raycroft in net would send that message loud and clear.

[FRT]

In my opinion the only players that should remain untouchable in the house cleaning to come are first Toskala...he must remain our starter for a few years while he mentors young Pogge next season. So I agree...rest him more now that we just about have the first pick overall locked as L.A. will soon pass us. Also Steen should stay as Maurice has misused him badly. Keep McCabe as the veteran defenseman to mentor the kids White, Colaiacovo and Stralman who should also be untouchable. After that every player is game to be traded if the right deals can be done! Plus I fully expect Maurice to be fired immediately after the last whistle to the season blows!

[Michael Nestlehut]

Amen to that....I like the idea of throwing a few non-pressure games Pogge's way.

[Adi]

Great article and 100% right. You start rebuilding the team NOW not in July or August.
Bring that kid and put him into the net asap to build some confidence (or just to asses him and you know what you have to do in summer time) to find someone else to backup Toskala.
Right now Toskala and Sundin (I know lot of people will debate that) are the only Jewellery in this team. TAKE CARE OF THEM!