True, but unfortunately, if he had been drafted by the Leafs, he would likely not have 19 since he wouldn't be playing with Joe Thornton.Well, I did say John Ferguson and I did use the past tense "was".
I think it can be assumed readers of this thread know Burkie is the current GM.
I will grant that "had been" feels more accurate; but, really I prefer to just type something out in 15 seconds and hit the send button when I post here.
If my grammar is a bit off c'est la vie.
I'll agree to that....I just used Jonas Hiller as an example of the fact that most goalies who are the top in the NHL had stints in AHL which they excelled ... Tim Thomas , Semyon Varlamov , Pekka Rinne , Jonathan Quick , Brian Boucher , Ondrej Pavelec etc ., All these guys were once at James Reimer stage and so he may or may not be savior to Toronto's goaltending whoos ... Goaltending is the one position that can make a team over achieved .. Name me the last team that didn't make the playoffs which had Reimer type of numbes 1.92 .947 ?? I use the word over achieve cause if you look at the Leafs latest streak with Reimer in net ... 21-35 , 34-44 ( 20-6 3rd period ) 28-32, 26-42 , all these game T.O has been out shot and the goaltending has made them over over achieve ... Would Reimer type of goaltending if it was here at the begining of the season make the Leafs a Stanley Cup threat .. No but playoff position yes ... Question put Toskola and Monster in Montreal nets and give Toronto Halak and Price in Toronto nets would the Canadians have made the playoffs last year ??? When did Phoenix Coyotes fortunes turn around ?? I think it was when Ilya Bryzgalov came into town ( Gretz even said I am a better coach since Ilya Bryzgalov came into town ) .. Have they won the Cup ... No ... But Finally after a dry run of about 7 years they made the playoffs ...
You do have a point and this city and most Canadian cities ( where they are Hockey nuts ) are a goaltending grave yards but the rare one comes along that thrives in that enviorment ... It's a wait and see with Reimer and this could be a hot streak or this could be a 22 year old Kid finally given the opportunity .. Jonas Hiller was in the same situation as Reimer is now. He came into a situation with Giguere, Ilya Bryzgalov , and took the ball and ran with it and has looked back since .. Here is hoping Reimer is the start of something special ...
honestly believe that when Burke brought Giguere to Toronto, it was for him to share the starting role with Gustavsson and eventually (likely this year) give way to Gustavsson being the main guy and Giguere being the backup. He was very open in stating that he wanted Giguere to work in mentoring role with the monster. I believe that he would do the same thing with Reimer. If Reimer is the real-deal (and he is starting to prove it more and more), I think that Burke would run with him. Would he send Gustavsson down? Who knows. He might talk to him and explain that right now, the choice is to sit in the press box, sit on the bench, or play hockey and all he has to do is go to the minors for a bit. Burke is an egomaniac so it's hard to say what he would do, because in part, he doesn't want to admit that he was wrong in pursuing Gustavsson as aggressively as he did, but he also doesn't want to give up another lottery pick as part of the Kessel deal. He wants to do whatever it takes to win so I think that he would stay with the hot hand. Reimer would have to drop to mediocrity at this point for it to make sense to send him down.Leafs probably would have lost in both L.A. and San Jose if Gigere or Gustavsson had played.
I get the feeling the players and Wilson like having Reimer in net and they're not going to be happy if he gets sent down to Marlies because he's clearly the best goalie the way he's been playing.
If Burke doesn't want to buy out the rest of Gigere's contract and release him, they should go with 3 goalies for a while.
Yes, I agree with you. Most prospects just don't pan out. Got to play them to find out.Is it cause Gustavsson plays for Toronto that we over rate him ie he will likely be picked up .. He is a goalie who is 6-12-2 3.13 .896 and is 26 years old ... I am not critizing you Kilgore Trout but he plays like he knows Leafs won't send him down and there is an entiltement cause we bent over backwards to get him .. Who is Gustavsson really ??? A guy who played great over seas ..
even though our team made some mistakes but it seems like the players are playing much harder in front of reimer ...i notice were blocking way more shots too getting in the passing lane...just much better overall in defence last few games... the confidence of Reimer rubs off onto the teamJames Reimer is exactly the type of goaltending that Toronto GM's have been looking for ever since Eddie Belfour left this organization .. James Reimer type of goaltending makes coaches and teams look better ... He hides defense deficiencies cause in those 40 shots a bit a lot of give ways were stoped and your team only requires to score 3 goals to win in most games ...
Alan Bester was a star?? Holy crap. He was almost as bad as Peter Ing or Mark Laforest.When was the last time the Leafs drafted a goalie and developed him and he came out to be a star ??? Potvin and prior to that Alan Bester maybe ..
The reason Potvin had a couple of good years was because he had some very good defense men in front of him.Alan Bester was a star?? Holy crap. He was almost as bad as Peter Ing or Mark Laforest.
Maybe even WORSE than Ing.
Potvin really only had a few good years. Then he became average. A decent goalie, but average none-the-less. He was no more a star than Dan Cloutier in Vancouver.
Don't get me wrong I love Potvin...had poster of him on my wall and all...and I love what he did and the thrill that he and the rest of the Leafs gave us for those couple of years, but he is not a star. He will never go to the Hall of Fame.
The Leafs usually play their best hockey in April when they are firmly out of the playoffs.The Toronto Maple Leafs had the 7th best record after the allstar break last year and it seems the trend continues ....
April. The regular season is over and the Leafs are out of the playoffs.The Leafs usually play their best hockey in April when they are firmly out of the playoffs.
I just checked the schedule. The Leafs last regular season game is April 9th. They play 4 games in April. Any bet they will win 3 of the 4?April. The regular season is over and the Leafs are out of the playoffs.
Have they been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, if so, they will win 3 of 4, if not, best they will do is go 2-2 .I just checked the schedule. The Leafs last regular season game is April 9th. They play 4 games in April. Any bet they will win 3 of the 4?