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Giggy and the future

Posted 10:15 AM ET | Comments 0
As Burke has built our team from the mesh out, I will talk about the future of our team the mesh out.

Giggy, our six mill a year net minder, was a brilliant acquisition by Burke. Shedding Jason Blakes ridiculous contract and, the transparent between the pipes, Vesa Toskala for a goalie who could stop a puck let alone a beach ball was genius.

It’s important to note that, not that I didn’t love how Blake would streak down the sides EVERY TIME run out of ice EVERY TIME then try a wrap around EVERY TIME… if the evolution of the butterfly goalie didn’t hint that maybe, just maybe the wrap around wasn’t going to work anymore… BUT THEN HE’D SCORE ONE! Which would just in turn emphasize in his mind why he was justified to keep streaking down the side EVERY TIME… thus perpetuating the Jason Blake syndrom…EVERY TIME… I feel like I’m writing about the lamb chops of Hockey… “This is the song that never ends…”

I digress as we lost Pogge in the trade, some might argue “eh” others feel Pogge was a tremendous goalie to be. However, it ain’t no Tukka for Raycroft. Thank you Ferguson. Never mind the fact that Burke went out and signed the Finnish Rhynns to cover the loss of Pogge, who does show some potential in stopping the puck. So, at the end of the day… if we go by the philosophy of whichever team ends up with the best player in the trade wins… Leafs 1 Anaheim 0.

Technically we didn’t really make cap space in the trade, but what we did get was a true mentor for the goalie that Burke is entrusting with the franchise… Gustavsson. The 2010′ 11 season will be Jonas’ sophmore season. He has a significantly stronger goalie in front of him compared to the beginning of last season, hence less pressure on him so he can still ease into the show, and he’s got his rookie season jitters out of the way. Now it’s just building his skill, his NHL IQ and most importantly, his confidence.

I’m just shooting through swiss cheese here and I may not be hitting anything, but the way Burke has structured Gustavsson’s contract, with Giggy’s ending next season and Jonas’ expiring the following, Burke enables Jonas to have one more year behind Giggy and depending on how he plays, entrust him to be our number one net minder in the 2011′ 12 season. An added bonus, is if Giggy is still in form at 34/35, we could re-sign him for a considerably smaller contract and transition him into the back up role. Very similar to what the Rangers have done with Marty Biron. An aged, experience goaltender to back up your young gun. The foundation is there for the leafs to have a tremendous one-two punch with our goalies in the coming two seasons… the future relies on Jonas’ development. The coaching staff, primarily Allaire but also on our stunning coach who once again, as the only coach in league history had the worst PK and the worst PP. Once, an anomaly. Twice with two different teams… Je ne sais pas. I ain’t going to pass judgment. The last few sentences may be saturated in sarcasm… who knows. This is all for a post later in the season… as Wilson’s future with the organization may be on the line this season…
Filed Under:   leafs   toronto   maple   giguere   burke   wilson   goalie  
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