Another Goalie Prospect On The Way

It won't be official for another day or so, but the Maple Leafs have successfully courted Finnish free agent goalie Jussi Rynnas.

Rynnas' agent, St. Louis-based Allain Roy, said today he has notified the other teams pursuing Rynnas - Dallas, Edmonton, Detroit, among others - that he will be negotiating a deal with the Leafs, likely to be finalized in the next 48 hours.

A big part of the Leaf pitch was to offer the 22-year-old Rynnas the opportunity to work with goalie coach Francois Allaire.

"It's a chance to play for a goalie coach who loves working with goalies who play his style," said Roy today.

 Like Swede Jonas Gustavsson, who the Leafs signed as a free agent last summer, Rynnas is a tall drink of water, about 6-foot-5. Some teams were leary about him because of the relative weakness of the Finnish elite league, but the Leafs saw him as the best goalie prospect on the market and, like Gustavsson, a late bloomer who only became a starter this year for Assat Pori.

Gustavsson just signed for two years, while veteran J.S. Giguere will be going into the last year of his contract next season. That would allow Rynnas to twin with James Reimer with the Marlies next season, and then, theoretically, compete with Gustavsson for the starting job in 2011-12.

Terms of the deal aren't clear, but because of Rynnas' age it will be a three-year entry level pact.

Comments

[Dave]

Way to go Burkie!

[ramanaa88]

awesome..

[D.A Mitchell]

nice. depth in goal is never a bad idea. good work Mr. Burke. Now go out and rob some other teams for scorers or scoop free agent forwards ... or both... Looking forward to next season already and the playoffs aren't even close to over but with every move he makes Burke makes it easier to believe the playoffs are in reach in short order.

[Richie W.]

A Finnish replacement for that other Finnish goalie, you know, the one we traded to Boston for the goalie who's playing for Vancouver....see we do have goalies in the playoffs!

[dale]

Who cares...as long as MLSE is in control the Leafs will languish as they did under Ballard.'Just enough" is the mantra for them...as in 'just enough to fool them' that the team is viable.Listen Leafs Fans...its being run as A BUSINESS, and quite obviously winning anything is not worth being saddled by those wage scales...so the leafs will win nothing until there is competition in Toronto or MLSE goes bankrupt and sells...a real fan will stop going...tell me...if the Leafs were any other product you would have returned it...stop spending on a (very) poor product...

[Willie]

let's plan the parade

[Jaxon]

Burke should get an automatic induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame just for getting rid of Toskala, Blake and Stajan.

[Bob]

Woohoo! Great job Burkie! I was sure we lost him to Dallas but our scouting is huge and our team is going places!

[Hanahh]

This has gotta feel good for Jonas?...

[Ron Gillespie]

Considering quality goaltenders tend to develop later in their career, it will be nice to have some options down the road behind JS Gigeure. And if they all turn out to be keepers - we can flip one for some picks or offensive help. This "free" pickup is a beauty to help offset no quality picks this year.

[Johnnyk]

Easy folks, he hasn't stopped a shot in the NHL yet.

[J. D. POWELL]

WELOME RYNNAS TO THE BIGGEST LOSER TEAM OF ALL SPORTS!

YOU WILL BE RECEIVING YOUR OLD AGE PENSION BEFORE THE MAPLE LAFFS EVEN MAKE THE POST SEASON AGAIN.

DUMBEST MOVE EVER!

WHO'S YOUR AGENT? HOMER SIMPSON? LOL!

[Mike]

Lot of haters. BTW Richie. Don't you think MLSE would make more money selling out the ACC in the playoffs?

[Johnnyk]

Somebody besides Kessel still has to put the puck in the net.

[Graeme B]

TYPING IN CAPS LOCK DOES NOT MAKE YOUR OPINION ANY LESS UNINFORMED.

Seriously, good move by Burke. If Rynnas works out then we have depth in a position which has lacked it. If he's a dud, the Leafs essentially lose nothing.

[snacker]

@JohnnyK...who's your team? The Habs? The Sens? Wow, they've done way better this year eh...keep chirping...the leafs knew they weren't making the playoffs this year and they went with youngest team in the league. Atleast they didn't pretend they were going to win it all like every other Canadian team. Give your head a shake. This was a good pickup to have some depth once Giguere is gone. Oh yeah and if you look at how many Finnish goalies are in the show nowadays, it makes perfect sense to take a chance on a big guy who plays the right style...and they gave up nothing to get him. Thats as good as a late 1st rounder right there...

[Kyle Durham]

It sounded like he wasn't even going to visit Toronto in previous articles, but Burke and Nonis visited him earlier this year in Finland and then went to Montreal and gave him a suprise visit when they found out he was going to be there. It's huge for us that Burke is a very persuasive man. I don't remember Ferguson ever chasing down free agents as hard as Burke and his staff.

[Conn Smythe]

'Listen Leafs Fans...its being run as A BUSINESS'...

That's good that the Leafs are run as a business - because that's what it is. A business. And winning in the play - off's would provide MLSE with the most revenues, so obviously they would want a team to make the play - off's (they just don't know how but Burkie will change that). And Dale, if I decide to spend my money on the Leafs, what business is it of yours? If your not a Leaf fan, don't comment on Leaf articles.

[Spanky]

This doesn't hurt the Leafs one bit. What's happening, we now have FA's signing in TO, is the culture changing? Burkey, brings in Allaire, builds a real scouting staff and now is doing some great stuff and with players wanting to be a part of it. NICE! Keep it up Burkey.

[KD]

Dale, you've got it wrong - after they cover the cost of electricity and security, ever ticket sold in the playoffs is pure profit. There are NO player salaries. Every player earns the same amount, based on how far the team progresses, and if I'm not mistaken, it's paid from LEAGUE revenues, not the team's pocket. Of course, the league gets a chunk of their revenues from ticket sales, but the teams keep a fair portion of it.

[adam]

@Richie - yes, MLSE is running a business. Businesses want to maximize profit. Now that there's a hard salary cap, they can't spend any more than the other top teams. What's the best way for them to make more profit from the team? Host as many playoff games as possible. Now that the basics of business have been explained to you, do you still think management would prefer to do 'just enough'?

[Chris]

Sorry to burst the bubble of the bashers but this team is going to get better. I know you want to believe that a young team with character is somehow going to be worse than a bunch of aging underachievers but history proves you wrong and you will be proven wrong this time too. It won't happen in a year or in a few games but it will happen. As for this signing, it's never a bad thing to add a prospect without expending a draft pick/prospect or roster player it is a good move. If the player flops you lose nothing. If the player succeeds you get something for nothing. Good move. As for the "we need offence" etc, the season is still going. The draft isn't for another two months and free agency doesn't start until a few days after that. Relax. It's 5 more months before next year.

[jack]

The problem with everyone being allowed an opinion is that it sometimes makes for annoying reading.It appears to me their are some negative people out their who just want to hate and relate to nothing but negative remarks.
Mr Burke when he took over the management of Toronto said it would take time to build a club for the fans deserving a better team.
It appear to me that he is well aware of the requirements are.building a good defence,tall good goaltending for the club for many years or can be good in the transfer market, now focus on a stronger forward line.
Now that he has rid the club of the country boys and having players who are prepared to be coached and having speed as well.
I would like the complainers to admit we are getting better to look at and enjoying the faster and better team on the ice to shut their big mouths and start enJoying some good hockey.

[Matt B]

never sure why readers say THIS IS A BAD SIGNING when the guy hasn't played a game. Leafs gave up nothing to get him, and with no picks in the first two rounds of this draft, getting a 2 year old goalie is a good deal. No fan of the Leafs with an IQ over 50 would say this is a bad move.

As for the readers blaming MLSE: none of the board members scores goals. Unless Peddie and Tannenbaum start strapping on the skates stop blaming them. Players and coaches are the ones who win. MLSE just signs the cheques.

[hendy]

As most GMs will concur, Brian Burke is the hardest working GM in the league. He finally has stripped this team of losers and has one good chip left (Kaberle). If he doesn't unload him, we still have one of the top 5 point getting defenceman in the league since the lockout. Not too shabby.

He'll get at least one pick in the 1st or 2nd round this year and pick up some more college free agents. Leave this guy alone until he has his team built up the way he wants it, then you can snicker. The Phaneuf trade alone should make people shut up. Stajan, White, Mayers and Hagman for Phaneuf, Sjöström and Keith Aulie (one of their top prospects). That's a bar stool trade.

In reference to Kessel - he is scoring at just under .50 goals a game. There are about 3-4 players in the league that score at the pace. None of the drafted players will score at that pace, as great as they are.

Remember that Kessel was ranked ahead of Crosby in the mid-season draft rankings and did not actually fall into the '05 draft year because of his birthdate. That says something considering that Crosby was the most anticipated draft pick since Eric Lindros.

Let Burke do his job, and count the chips the day he leaves here.