Toronto Maple Leafs; Goalie Situation?
Posted 1:01 AM ET | Comments 12
Let me start this off by saying the following;
Andrew Raycroft is underrated.
Who just laughed?! Stop it!
Okay, here's the thing. For those of you that think Andrew Raycroft was a bust of a trade for Toronto, raise your hands. Now slap yourselves with said hands. Thank you.
This blog/article/drawn out opinion is about Andrew Raycroft, not about Vesa Toskala. With all due respect to Tosk (or Tusk, apparantly?) Andrew Raycroft should be the starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs this upcoming season. He deserves it.
The former Calder trophy winner put up fantastic numbers in his rookie season. Everyone knows that. He wouldn't have won the Calder had he not. Now, after a season like he had we would all expect great things from him, right? Well, ask the good people of Boston how they felt and they'll all tell you the same thing. Raycroft was going to take the Bruins to the promised land. He might have, too.
The problems all started for him with the lockout. While most young players were overseas skating in leagues throughout Europe, Raycroft did very little. He appeared in only 14 games that year (including 3 playoff games), coming back to the NHL for his much anticipated sophomore season, well, maybe a bit rusty. And it showed. He was often on IR or seen at the end of the bench, and for good reason. His numbers were terrible. Let me repeat that; terrible. He posted an ugly 3.71 GAA in 30 games, only winning 8 of them. If I was the GM in Boston at the time I would have traded him too, especially for one of the worlds best young goalie prospects in Tukka Rask. Now, all of you who say that Toronto got robbed in that deal please raise your hands. Now lower them just a bit. Okay, slap yourselves. Thank you. Rask has never played North American styled hockey and forget what mom told you, it's much different. Especially for a goaltender.
So, Raycroft was looking for a fresh start, Toronto was looking for a young goalie to replace the oft-injured Belfour. A win-win, right? Even with his numbers the previous season, I had faith because I knew that Raycroft was not only injured, but also under worked during the lockout so he was rusty. In fact, the under worked part probably lead to his injuries, but that's speculation. (Wait, that's what this site is about, duh!) In the 2006-2007 NHL regular season, Andrew Raycroft appeared in 72 games! I don't even care about how many he won right now (37), he played 72 games after appearing in only 30 the previous season.
Let me ask you something. Don't you think that adding 42 games to your last seasons total (not to mention he sat on the bench almost the entire second half of the 05'-06' season) you're going to get a little tired? Paul Maurice gave up on Aubin. Plain and simple, he didn't want Aubin in net. So Raycroft got more than his share of the load. As an avid (yet non-blinded) member of Leafs Nation, and having watched all but about 5 of Toronto's games last season (yes, LeafsTV!) I noticed something. The first 30 games out of the gate Raycroft looked great. I knew we'd make the playoffs. But he started to slow down. His glove hand disappeared. He was tired.
As the season wore on you could see it more and more that he just wasn't up to taking on that many games, not after a dismal season in which he only played in 30 games! Give or take the fact that Toronto had a so/so at best, Razor was still pretty sharp most of the time. Then, in his last start of the season, a horrible game against the Canadians, in which Aubin was brought in to relieve Raycroft. Think about that. Maurice had given up on Aubin, yet, pulled Raycroft in his favor during the game. Yes, Raycroft was THAT bad. That being said, I really do believe this net-knight (haha!) has a bright future ahead of him.
I truly believe that acquiring Toskala at the draft was pre-mature. If I was GM in Toronto, I would have given Raycroft another chance to prove himself. No rust. Bring in someone like CuJo who could mentor him and back him up adequately. Play Raycroft in 60 games max and see how it goes. No excuses. I think he deserved it. Now we'll never know.
Andrew Raycroft is underrated.
Who just laughed?! Stop it!
Okay, here's the thing. For those of you that think Andrew Raycroft was a bust of a trade for Toronto, raise your hands. Now slap yourselves with said hands. Thank you.
This blog/article/drawn out opinion is about Andrew Raycroft, not about Vesa Toskala. With all due respect to Tosk (or Tusk, apparantly?) Andrew Raycroft should be the starting goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs this upcoming season. He deserves it.
The former Calder trophy winner put up fantastic numbers in his rookie season. Everyone knows that. He wouldn't have won the Calder had he not. Now, after a season like he had we would all expect great things from him, right? Well, ask the good people of Boston how they felt and they'll all tell you the same thing. Raycroft was going to take the Bruins to the promised land. He might have, too.
The problems all started for him with the lockout. While most young players were overseas skating in leagues throughout Europe, Raycroft did very little. He appeared in only 14 games that year (including 3 playoff games), coming back to the NHL for his much anticipated sophomore season, well, maybe a bit rusty. And it showed. He was often on IR or seen at the end of the bench, and for good reason. His numbers were terrible. Let me repeat that; terrible. He posted an ugly 3.71 GAA in 30 games, only winning 8 of them. If I was the GM in Boston at the time I would have traded him too, especially for one of the worlds best young goalie prospects in Tukka Rask. Now, all of you who say that Toronto got robbed in that deal please raise your hands. Now lower them just a bit. Okay, slap yourselves. Thank you. Rask has never played North American styled hockey and forget what mom told you, it's much different. Especially for a goaltender.
So, Raycroft was looking for a fresh start, Toronto was looking for a young goalie to replace the oft-injured Belfour. A win-win, right? Even with his numbers the previous season, I had faith because I knew that Raycroft was not only injured, but also under worked during the lockout so he was rusty. In fact, the under worked part probably lead to his injuries, but that's speculation. (Wait, that's what this site is about, duh!) In the 2006-2007 NHL regular season, Andrew Raycroft appeared in 72 games! I don't even care about how many he won right now (37), he played 72 games after appearing in only 30 the previous season.
Let me ask you something. Don't you think that adding 42 games to your last seasons total (not to mention he sat on the bench almost the entire second half of the 05'-06' season) you're going to get a little tired? Paul Maurice gave up on Aubin. Plain and simple, he didn't want Aubin in net. So Raycroft got more than his share of the load. As an avid (yet non-blinded) member of Leafs Nation, and having watched all but about 5 of Toronto's games last season (yes, LeafsTV!) I noticed something. The first 30 games out of the gate Raycroft looked great. I knew we'd make the playoffs. But he started to slow down. His glove hand disappeared. He was tired.
As the season wore on you could see it more and more that he just wasn't up to taking on that many games, not after a dismal season in which he only played in 30 games! Give or take the fact that Toronto had a so/so at best, Razor was still pretty sharp most of the time. Then, in his last start of the season, a horrible game against the Canadians, in which Aubin was brought in to relieve Raycroft. Think about that. Maurice had given up on Aubin, yet, pulled Raycroft in his favor during the game. Yes, Raycroft was THAT bad. That being said, I really do believe this net-knight (haha!) has a bright future ahead of him.
I truly believe that acquiring Toskala at the draft was pre-mature. If I was GM in Toronto, I would have given Raycroft another chance to prove himself. No rust. Bring in someone like CuJo who could mentor him and back him up adequately. Play Raycroft in 60 games max and see how it goes. No excuses. I think he deserved it. Now we'll never know.
I'm probably one of the few people who will agree with you lol. I like Raycroft, but he's not brodeur and can't handle playing that many games in a season. I really like the move of bringing Toskala in however, I think he's a great goalie and I think if he and Raycroft can battle it out for number 1 it should be a good year in goal for us.
I would only trade Raycroft at this point if they could get something decent in return, going into the season with Toskala and Raycroft would be a decent move...chances are one of them won't play so badly.
I agree that Raycroft had some shining moments, but he has not been exactly a fan favorite. My concern around the crease is that the Leafs just don't know what to do with Raycroft. They signed Clemmensen and now accroding to Eklund could get Joseph if Raycroft is dealt the coyotes. WHY? I agree Joseph would be a great back up, so why Clemmensen? The leafs still have Pouge in their sites. I would much rather the see a deal made now and get some young blood or draft picks as God knows we need them. This would then free up some cash that we could spend to strengthen up our offense.Cheers!
I think they should play both Raycroft and Vesa, and see who gets hot. Eventually even a hot goalie gets tired so that when the other goalie comes into play. One goalie will end up playing 65-70% of the games, and the other goalie will play hte rest. Thats the key to winning and having two goalies capable of playing during the play-offs!! Which the Leafs will make next year.GO LEAFS GO!!!
There is no way in hell they are going to share the load. It happened in San Jose (to himself), it happened in Minnesota, Florida, Montreal and even Ottawa. Given the fact that they had one goalie in mind for the season, something always happens, either one gets hurt or one doesn't play well the first week or month then the coach turns to the other guy. And what happens? They play better and the other one sits on the bench. Great example in Emery and Gerber. It's an excellent problem to have, two great goalies you can turn to, but it's not good when one of them sits most of the season because of a bad move or small mistake at the beginning of the season. But we'll see right? Reeno49, great article bro. I give you two thumbs up...
An argument can be made for both sides. If Toronto keeps both goalies they've got 2 capable starters for the price of one. Who doesn't want that? Obviously Vesa isn't going to be traded, so the logical trade would be Raycroft. I really don't think Clemmensen has anything to do with TML, though. He'll play with the Marlies. If Raycroft gets traded I could definately see CuJo come back and help back Vesa up while offering invaluable experience as a mentor. I think no matter what happens this season JFJ really addressed any goaltending concerns so it will not play a factor in whether or not the Leafs make the playoffs this upcoming season
Where you watching the same leafs?? You need to share what you are smoking cause the "slap" needs to land up side your head. Raycroft had 1 stellar year, ONE! Then he was a bust. Not to say last year he was a complete bust, he did OK. So like the moron FJF is, he signs him long term. What he SHOULD have done was to give Razor a One year contract to prove himself. (just like Peca, who we SHOULD keep and re-sign) Toronto is a tough market to play in, and the one thing that the leafs have always had was a stand on your head goalie. What bother me about Razor what his apprent lack of interest attitdude. He is not a starter...yet. Also why the hell would you dish out a large contract to Toskala like that and NOT have him as the starter? Razor is as good as gone.
You may have a point in some of your comments. However, I watched every leaf game last year and must correct you on one thing. Raycroft's glove didnt slow down half way through the season. The issue was that opponents realized that he would drop to his knees too soon and the glove side was an easy target. On most glove shots, if it didnt go in, it usually missed the net. Furthermore, on 3 seperate occasions and in particular the last game against Montreal, Raycroft completely misjudged how to catch a wrist from the Blue line. Thats not fatigue...thats poor focus. I would also agree to keep him for a while and hope he adds trading value because right now, his value is only a salary dump.ND
Good blog, trading Raycroft could be a mistake that will haunt the Leafs for a long time. He will bounce back. Going from the lockout, to a 30 game injury riddled season, to playing 72 games in the one of the hardest places in the world to play, that is a lot to ask, yet he handled it fairly well. He has a bright future, and the Leafs would be foolish to give up on him.
great blog amoroq good point of view
good blog Amo!! I completely disagree with you on the subject though. I think the leafs should get rid of him as fast as possible and preferably to the Western conference, everyone in the East knows to shoot high glove side on him. He can't take the pressure of playing in TO...hell there are days when I can't take the pressure of living in TO!!! Toskala will be good for 40 games and then you guys are pooched!! Sad to say that the Leafs will not go to the play-offs again. Great Blog...keep it up!
Thanks but its not my blog :)