Monstrous

At some point, the Maple Leafs are going to have to start dealing in facts when it comes to The Monster, goalie Jonas Gustavsson.

Pretty much every game Gustavsson plays, he gives up a whack of goals, almost always three or more. Every game Ron Wilson and Brian Burke and many Leaf fans go out of their way to say it wasn't his fault, that he could have sued his defence for non-support, that you can't pin this one on him.

The latest episode in this exercise came Monday night in Philly when the Leafs lost 4-2. Gustavsson gave up the four goals on 30 shots, not considered a terribly onerous burden for an NHL goalie to bear. He was busy, sure. He made two or three very good saves. He stopped Jaromir Jagr on one of three breakaways. And he allowed four goals, which means the Leafs had very little chance of winning the game because it's very difficult to score five in most NHL matches.

At the other end, Sergei (Bob) Bobrovsky faced 28 shots, let in two. He did the job a backup goalie is supposed to do. He made as many good saves as Gustavsson, and gave up no easy ones.

The best job of a backup in the NHL on the night was delivered by 21-year-old Jacob Markstrom of Florida, a 6-foot-6 giant who won his second game in three starts with a spiffy 40-save performance against the Montreal Canadiens in which he allowed just one goal.

Now that's a monster of a kid delivering the kind of performance worthy of a good nickname.

The Leafs have paid Gustavsson well, they've taken care of his medical needs, they've coddled him, they've kept him in the NHL when should have been in the minors. It was generally acknowledged Ben Scrivens was better in the pre-season, but he went to the AHL Marlies and Gustavsson stayed up.

As a free agent, the Leafs pursued The Monster with vigour, and won the race. But that's meaningless now. Fabian Brunnstrom had a lot of teams believing in his talent once, too.

Fine. The Leafs apparently believe Gustavsson, although at 27, he's not so young any more. In his last seven appearances, a reasonable sample size, he has allowed 31 goals. In his last 17 appearances, only twice has his save percentage in a game been above .900, which is sort of the bare minimum these days to be regarded as a bona fide NHL goalie. The argument has been that the team plays badly in front of him every time out. Well, the numbers show that in his last 26 appearances, Gustavsson has faced more than 30 shots on only eight occasions.

The part that's truly mystifying is that while Gustavsson has played 68 NHL games, he has only played five in the AHL where he might have been able to build up the kind of professional confidence and momentum that could be converted into quality NHL play.

The Leafs could have gone after a veteran NHL backup last summer. Tomas Vokoun was there if they wanted him. They chose to believe in Gustavsson, and while he's capable of making good to excellent saves in any game, he just doesn't stop enough pucks to give the team a chance to win on most nights. The stats don't lie.

The excuse-making surrounding this netminder, meanwhile, is remiscent about how excuses were once made for Andrew Raycroft. And Vesa Toskala. In both cases the Leafs tried to convince you that what you thought you were seeing wasn't really what you were seeing.

Well it was. In Gustavsson's case, the only one who can really change the perception is him. Stop more pucks. Allow fewer goals. Put up the numbers.

Otherwise, there's really not much to talk about here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Trevor]

Don't assume that the Leafs could of signed Vokoun in the off-season. He took a paycut to play for the Cup with the Caps.

[Jeff]

Well, to be honest, what kind of team gives Jaromir Jagr - one of the most prolific goal scorers in NHL history - three breakaways in one game? Speaking of last game, I think it's easy to look at the numbers and say he had a bad game, where personally I think he had a good game but the Leafs had all kinds of trouble playing defense against a very chippy Flyers team.

[TeeCee]

How come there is no mention about Komaserick looking like a complete dog on the ice for a couple, and in the penalty box on one of their power play goal ?

[Conn Smythe]

I really want to disagree with Cox on this one, but I agree. The Monster has been a bust in the brief time he has been with the Leafs.

[sam]

It sounds like the defence let the Monster down more than he let the team down. Isn't it rare to have a breakaway in an NHL game, let alone 3?

[ValleyRed]

Didn't Goose go down to the Marlies last year, and play really well? Watching him now, he seems like he's got the yips, every shot he stops he's always looking behind him to see if it's gone in.

Maybe a trip down to the Marlies where he can play a bunch and get some confidence back would be the solution. I know he works tremendously hard in practice, but he looks like a goalie with practically no confidence.

[Jeff Prince]

the difference between the monster and bobrovsky is that jonas had to stop jagr, one of the best goal scorers in the history of the game while bobrovsky had to stop clarke mcarthur

[Marc]

Hopefully the evaluator of the monster is not the same person who thought Pogge was a better bet than Rask.

[Beno]

What kind of team gives jagr 3 breakaways you say? A team with Komisarek on D for sure....Loved his impersonation of a statue

[Matthew]

I couldn't agree more with Damian Cox. This is the same way Raycroft and Toskala were treated. You can blame the defense if you like, but why aren't either of those guys suceeding in other teams?

The fact is, on the same team Riemer gives up 2-3 goals a night, and the monster gives up 4-6.

Scrivens has looked good, but you never know until he gets actual NHL action. Time to find out.

[Lisa]

Totally agreed with you 100%. I almost feel sorry for the so called Monster at times.......Yes , there were 3 giveaways .......but with the same kind of shots and spots.......Come on .......WHO is responsible for giving him this undeserving nickname??? I also think the A.goalie coach deserve half the blame !!!

[Donny Rose]

The Monster experiment has to end. A good back up goalie would have stolen a point for your team and got you into overtime. The 4th goal was a back breaker. Its time to release the Monster. Burke has to look at the situation for what it is. This guy cannot be in the long term plans and you gotta think Scrivens and Rynas have passed him in the organizational depth chart. I think Burke should try and get Nabokov out of the Island. I think you could do it for Komisarek and a middle of the road prospect ie) Aullie, D'Amigo

[Adrian]

Cox is bang on here and I would like to thank him for actually calling the leafs out on this. He has had ample opportunity and simply hasn't delivered. Where is the rebound control? Yes there were defensive breakdowns but there always will be from time to time (especially while Komisarek is on the ice) and guess what, that's when the goalie is supposed to make the big save and unfortunately those are rare with him in net. As a fan watching the game on tv, I am nervous for just about every shot he faces. I can only imagine how the team feels. Time to cut him loose or send him down.

[Sam]

Stats don't lie right? Well this season's stats has showed Reimer has yet to start against a powerhouse team. Gustavsson has started all the games that no one believed the Leafs had a chance of winning. The reason Philly's backup played well is they start him when their against weak opponents. Think about that Cox.

[Lunker]

You have to look at the quality of scoring chances, not just shots against. Please tell me which of the goals he should have stopped. The Jagr breakaways? The one where he was jumped on and shoved into the net? Or the one off of the crossbar from the slot? If Bobrovsky's 29th and 30th shots were breakaways to Kessel or Grabo, I bet you wouldn't be touting his performance.

[moe green]

First of all, the nickname "The Monster" has to go. If there is a more pretentious nick in the league I haven't heard it. For me, Gustavsson is the far more fitting "Goose" at least until he earns the other nickname. It's like last night. For sure good teams don't give up THREE breakaways to Jagr, but for sure most good goalies stop two of them. Goose stopped one. Not good enough.

[Eric]

Monster nickname is completely appropriate - he big and ugly and his game is scary!

[Kirby]

You shouldn't be so quick as to put it all on Gustavsson. He's a goaltender yes, we already know that but it should also be a team effort. If the leafs lost then they didn't lose because Gustavsson let in a few extra pucks, they lost because no one else on the leafs defense did anything! Maybe if Gustavsson's teammates helped him out and didn't constantly leave him to fend for himself then the outcome probably been a whole lot different, so don't make it out that he( Gustavsson) was the one to blame. You do also realize that as a "backup" he doesn't exactly get a chance to play as much as Reimer does right? Well, maybe if that coach would give him a chance to play in more games and get some more practice then odds are he would learn to become more comfortable and would be able to become a lot stronger as a goaltender but he can't exactly do that if no one gives him a chance to at least try when they should instead of always having him sitting on the side lines night after night just 'watching'. I'm pretty sure there's more backup goalies out there that get to see more playtime then what the coaching staff and the Leafs let 'The Monster' play. Doesn't really seem all that fair does it? The answer is no, its not fair.

As someone above said:

"It sounds like the defence let the Monster down more than he let the team down. Isn't it rare to have a breakaway in an NHL game, let alone 3?"

Which I agree 110% with. He's defense teammates let him down WAY more then he let the team as a whole down. So maybe you should start looking at it from that perspective because there's obviously people on here who don't necessary agree with what your fully saying.

[sla]

Maybe if he wasn't out of position all the time his "brilliant saves" would just be pedestrian.

[Nick]

Maybe this will be considered a sin at this point, but personally, I have less confidence in Reimer in net that Gustavsson. Reimer looks behind him whenever he's not sure where the puck is. Last night the only goal(s) you could say Gustavsson could have prevented were the two breakaways, he got frozen by a player he's never seen before, from an era many don't even remember. Other posts in this thread have mentioned the 3 CLEAN breakaways, very rare in the current NHL. Perhaps think about it this way, those breakaways are the equivalent of a shoot-out, something Gustavsson has never been very good at. I think it's time to just stop harping on the goalies, and focus on the real issue and that's the defence - their communication and expectation of each other is atrocious. This defence is still very much individual efforts.

[Mike]

Completely agree with this article. Thanks for saying it Damo!!

[Nick]

Kind of agree with Cox. Sure the Toronto D hasn't really helped their cause. But the equation is quite simple: a good goalie doesn't let in goals. Gus has let in quite a few.

[Marcin Pawlak]

One important thing of note: The Flyers backup was facing the LEAFS, them of one prolific striker..Gustavsson was facing the FLYERS, one of the best teams in the East

[Mike Hassanally]

I'm not entirely convinced on Reimer either. Jeez Louise, Bester, Wregget, Ing, Raycroft and Toskala, etc.,etc.,etc.,. The Leafs have been winning on the backs of Kessel and Lupol, not on their goaltending. What happens when the well runs dry?

[Marcin Pawlak]

P.S: I can almost guarantee a bounce back performance if Gus starts against the offensively-challenged Rangers