Only 2 games into the regular season in Toronto and Vesa Toskala is already feeling the pressure. This is the start that Toskala was hoping to avoid, but after losing the opener to Montreal, a game that the Leafs out-shot the Habs by an almost a 2 to 1 margin before losing in overtime, Toskala followed that up with a disastrous first period Saturday night against the Washington Capitals, giving 3 goals on 8 shots in the process and finding himself on the bench to start the second period.
It should be mentioned that the teams defense has been terrible, and Toskala has received little to no help, but that doesn’t really change his situation as far as keeping his starting job is concerned. When Brian Burke went to Sweden in the summer to try to entice Jonas Gustavsson to sign in Toronto (he was ultimately successful in signing the Monster) the writing was on the wall for Toskala. This isn’t to say he was being replaced right away but he really needed to get off to great start personally, regardless of what the team in front of him was doing.
If Vesa could have made a couple big saves, had some kind of influence on the out come of the games he’s played, you could then suggest that with some help from his defense he’d win more games then he’d lose. In fact, it’s likely Toskala’s shaky goal tending that could be leading to a lot of the poor defensive plays in the first place.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have not announced who will start Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators but the simple fact they won’t say leads one to believe it will be Jonas Gustavsson. This is a long way from the stance that Burke and Wilson had of Toskala being the undisputed starter just a couple weeks ago.
The reality for Vesa Toskala is that he had the chance to put the whole situation to rest (at least for a little while) with a couple of strong starts, make a good impression early, and get the media off his back. The control of his fate could very well be in the hands of the Monster now, but if the Leafs start Jonas Gustavsson against the hated Ottawa Senators, they’re #1 rival, the decision might have already been made.