Leafs save percentage watch: .869

by James Mirtle on Nov 26, 2008 9:45 AM CST Comment 25 comments

"I've got to be better, I've got to keep the game close," said Joseph, once again denied his 450th NHL win.

— Toronto Sun

There's a big, big problem in goal in Toronto, one that's deciding a lot of games (in the wrong direction) for the team. Coach Ron Wilson didn't like it when I suggested on Monday that perhaps Vesa Toskala should sit, but the Atlanta game was an obvious one for the backup to get into given (a) the opposition and (b) how the No. 1 has played lately.

Toskala's won just two of his last eight starts and posted a 4.06 goals-against average and .851 save percentage over that span.

After Joseph's .800 performance last night in a 6-3 loss, the team's save percentage has dropped to .869, which could easily be the worst mark in the league after Dallas plays Minnesota tonight. And I'm not so sure I'll be predicting another start for Cujo any time soon.

Meanwhile, Howard Berger asked Joseph last night whether he thought about retiring:

"It’s okay that you ask that question… I understand where it’s coming from," he said. "I still enjoy playing, that’s the bottom line. I enjoy being around the young guys on this team and I really enjoy being a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. To me, that’s what really matters. And, you know what, physically, I feel great… I really do. I’ve just got to be better and make the important stops. It’s coming, though. My confidence is unshakable."

Brian Burke is going to be taking over the GM duties in Toronto within the next few days, and if he's looking for instant improvement to this team, he's going to start in goal. His two options involve either shuffling out Cujo, a 41-year-old fan favourite, or attempting to get something in return for Toskala, who hasn't been playing like a $4-million goaltender all season.

Neither are easy, and maybe winning this season isn't high enough of a priority to make such a switch. Make no mistake though: If this team misses the playoffs on its current pace, the No. 1 reason is what's happened in the crease.

	Team	GP	GAA	SV%
30	Dallas Stars	20	3.55	86.7
29	Toronto Maple Leafs	21	3.51	86.9
28	Columbus Blue Jackets	20	3.09	88.6
27	Los Angeles Kings	20	2.71	88.9
26	Nashville Predators	21	3.08	89.1
25	Calgary Flames	22	3.17	89.3
24	Detroit Red Wings	20	2.95	89.4
23	Washington Capitals	21	3.14	89.4
22	Colorado Avalanche	20	2.95	89.5
21	Atlanta Thrashers	20	3.42	89.6

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Comments

1) How can Joseph deny what everyone can see…he’s done?
2) Yes, if Joseph were any other back up goalie he’d of been on waivers this morning. Perhaps the team is waiting on Burke to make that move, but it didn’t stop them from making a trade with the Blues a few days ago.
3) At this point anyone else would seem to be an improvement. Unless of course Ed Belfour is working out somewhere? Probably not, as we haven’t heard any news from TO law enforcement being bribed for a billion. ; )

by Fauxrumors on Nov 26, 2008 10:15 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Problems between the pipes, indeed.

I don’t know if there’s a Mendoza line for goalies but Im sure Toskala is well beneath it.

Cujo (as much as I like him) should retire. 41 is too old for a road hockey goalie in the NHL.

by John Richardson on Nov 26, 2008 10:15 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I think the goaltender Mendoza line is being below 30th in the NHL in SV%. If other team’s backups are outplaying you, ouch.

(Toskala is 42nd, 12 backups post better SV% than he does.)

Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.

by Chemmy on Nov 26, 2008 12:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn baseball terminology cluttering up the comments.

by James Mirtle on Nov 26, 2008 12:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That was painful to watch last night — and I’m a (almost) neutral!

First thing I thought when I saw Joseph in was, “Wait, didn’t Wilson just snap at the suggestion…?” Second thing I thought was I hope he does alright. It’s tough to watch anyone go out like this.

SBN now has a NY Islanders blog at LighthouseHockey.com.

by Dominik on Nov 26, 2008 10:21 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Their goal this year wasn’t neccesarily to make the playoffs. Unless they can either jettison a bad contract or get a promising young backup it’s a waste of resources to trade for a new backup. If there were a viable UFA candidate out there, then fine, but I don’t see one. Thibault is about all I see.

This team shouldn’t waste any assets on stopgaps like Roloson, Hedberg or Norenna. If they could pluck, say, Corey Crawford or Jeff Deslauriers out of their organizations, though, it’d be a worthwhile investment. Crawford would be an interesting one, since he’s currently #4 in Chicago and appears very close to NHL ready. Even when Khabibulin is gone, he’s unlikely to get called up ahead of Antti Niemi, who is playing fanstastic and has a ton of upside.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 26, 2008 10:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

That’s the thing: If Toskala’s going to play like this, he’s obviously not a long-term answer, and it makes you wonder just who the goaltender’s going to be. They’d do well to turn it over to two youngsters who are playing well (and Pogge doesn’t fit the bill there yet).

by James Mirtle on Nov 26, 2008 11:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Justin Pogge has not exactly been lighting the AHL on fire. Is there another viable option to Curtis Joseph, someone in the KHL? It makes you wonder who the best goalie outside of the NHL is right now.

And looking at the cap space available to Burke and Wilson, I have to wonder if they would take a shot on Kyle McLaren who is idling in AHL Worcester. He has been a physical defensive defenseman, Wilson and Burke both have a lot of experience with him, and the Maple Leafs could probably pick him up for a late draft pick or draft considerations.

by pj48 on Nov 26, 2008 11:06 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

They’ve been pretty loaded on defence all year with nine bodies. Moving out Colaiacovo helps.

by James Mirtle on Nov 26, 2008 11:10 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What about...

Ray Emery. Wilson and Burke wouldn’t take his BS and I’m sure they could get him cheap.

by Exit716 on Nov 26, 2008 11:14 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Is Emery even the top guy at Atlant? Vitaliy Kolesnik is 10-1-5, 1.46GAA, .944SV5 and 3 shutouts. Emery is 10-4-0, 2.02GAA, .931SV% with 1 shutout. I have to watch a couple of their games online.

http://www.khl.ru/statistics/?section=team&idteam=2483&lang=en

by pj48 on Nov 26, 2008 11:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Unless Kolesnik has stated explicitly he wants to play in the NHL, I don’t see many KHLers jumping ship to the NHL without a lucrative one-way contract. Are there any NHL teams willing to poach players from the KHL with no transfer agreement in place at the risk of drawing the ire of both the IIHF and NHL? I doubt it.

by bkblades on Nov 26, 2008 11:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Honestly, probably the worst goaltending performances I’ve seen in a while.

by BDH on Nov 26, 2008 11:12 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The goalies

have no help. They haven’t been good, but as a goalie, I can’t let my peeps in the crease shoulder all the blame. They need help.

And the penalty killing is just awful.

Ron Wilson said he was going to focus on goals against and penalty killing. And yet we’re 30th out of 30 teams today. It’s unacceptable.

Wilson has not lived up to his promise to make the Leafs a tougher team to play against. He is Paul Maurice version 2.0.

Very, very disappointing.

And Pogge is not the answer. He is not ready. He needs to be left in the minors all season. Hopefully the Marlies can make the playoffs, otherwise Pogge rotting on the bench during the Marlies’ long playoff run will sting even more.

This franchise, man. It just can’t do anything right.

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by eyebleaf on Nov 26, 2008 11:15 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The goaltending numbers are bad in all situations. I think the Leafs save percentage at 4-on-5 is like .790 right now.

When’s the last time Toronto had good penalty killing?

by James Mirtle on Nov 26, 2008 11:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Ron Wilson is not going to miraculously change the team’s defensive results in 20 games.

Pogge looked great in the preseason right? We all agreed on that. Maybe it’s a matter of lack of motivation after three seasons in the minors without a sniff of NHL action.

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Nov 26, 2008 11:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Not playing in last year’s playoffs couldn’t have helped, either. The Marlies are a subpar team this year. Pogge has only put up good numbers on good teams in his career, from the WHL to the WJC to the AHL.

Pogge has another year and a half of AHL action before the Leafs have to make a decision on him.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 26, 2008 11:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Greg Gilbert

should have been fired for not playing him. That is probably Fletcher’s biggest mistake.

Pogge has only put up good numbers on good teams in his career, from the WHL to the WJC to the AHL.

You could say that about any Canadian goalie at the WJC. Pogge certainly did better in Calgary than Prince George but does anyone here have enough knowledge of the WHL to explain if that’s because, like any other goalie, will do better behind a good team that isn’t giving up great scoring chances or if Calgary was really that easy of a job?

Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.

by PPP on Nov 26, 2008 11:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Some goalies are considered top prospects even on bad junior teams. Pogge wasn’t even considered for Team Canada duties until he got to Calgary. I try and follow the WHL closely, but I obviously never see BC/US games because those teams only make one trip out to Saskatchewan every second year.

Putting up good numbers on good teams isn’t a sign of a bad prospect, it’s just been a trend of his. I would put his unimpressive numbers this year more on his team than him, per se. All of Toronto’s top prospects are in the NHL this year, and the Marlies cleaned out some of the vets, so it’s mainly a team of 2nd/3rd tier prospects. Not many goalies would put up good numbers in that situation.

The Hitmen in 04-05 were stacked… Getzlaf, Ladd, Pushkarev, Schultz, Kohn… even on their 3rd pairing they had a 15 year old Karl Alzner. The next year, they lost Getzlaf, Ladd, and Pushkarev but had some younger guys step up like Dupont and White, along with Schultz and Alzner. Very strong junior team both years… Pogge faced an average of 23.3 shots per game in his second year.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Nov 26, 2008 12:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

1) Maybe The Hockey News will pulish a retraction of the preseason player ratings where they had Toskala in the top 50 players in the NHL ; )

by Fauxrumors on Nov 26, 2008 11:38 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nor does Toronto have any depth at the position

Perhaps they should be looking at a player like Sabres prospect Adam Dennis who looks to be a solid player, but is no longer the number one prospect for Buffalo.

http://stats.theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=goalies&subType=18&season_id=16&&leagueId=4&lastActive=&singleSeason=

Blue and Gold (of Buffalo)

by Ebscer on Nov 26, 2008 12:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs