FTB - Andrew Raycroft is a Better Goaltender than Vesa Toskala

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 9:28 AM EST Comment 52 comments

Vesagrinch_medium

General Borschevsky thinks that Vesa Toskala is the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. He should also include the scheduling committee, but the Leafs won a four point game in the Hunt for Hedman last night.
Down Goes Brown cancelled Christmas.
Steve @ Hockeyanalysis' newest post: Vesa Toskala - Broken Shell of a Goaltender.
Ron Guillet is absolutely on point: the Leafs can't afford to rush Pogge.
Repressed Optimism likes candy canes, mistletoe and Matt Stajan.
Steve @ Hockeyanalysis looks at the Leafs' forward depth.

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Comments

As for two FTBs I’d like to reference this email sent by PPP:

Pension Plan Puppet

11:21 PM (10 hours ago)

Can you FTB? I’ll NNN and recap (sans photos because in my rush I forgot the camera so I missed all of the video of people jumping from the upper deck and the thought of spending their Christmas present money on Proline betting on the Leafs.)

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 9:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I have no recollection of the events in question.

To be fair, last night I was hallucinating from my fever.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 9:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I hid the other FTB so you could copy paste links from it into the FTB without losing your stuff.

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 9:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Whoops

I just deleted it. Oh well.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 10:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Vesa Toskala made me set a dog on fire.

Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.

by Down Goes Brown on Dec 24, 2008 9:52 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ah!

You beat me to it! I was just going to ask why yours wasn’t up there. Did Rover belong to Chemmy once?

by general borschevsky on Dec 24, 2008 9:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Microwave is faster.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 10:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

one more...

about nothing…

http://leftcoastlock.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-sat-down-to-write-list.html

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 10:03 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I hate hockey

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 10:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i nothing the leafs today...

my apathy engine kicked into overdrive last night…

sorry you had to see that game in the flesh. it was much easier to turn away from the TV…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 10:12 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I still couldn’t turn away. It’s like a car wreck or a train wreck, you just have to keep watching for some reason..

I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it. - Dogbert

by JohnnyG on Dec 24, 2008 10:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They were giving away Carlton bobblehead dolls. If TFC had played that badly those dolls would have littered the field. We should have pelted the Leafs with them.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 10:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can't get over the title of the FTB

…it’s so mean. That’s about the worst thing you could say about a goaltender.

by general borschevsky on Dec 24, 2008 10:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

i was thinking...

would it be funny or sad if instead of the Grinch photoshopped on Vesa, there was a picture of Raycroft in his usual Leaf pose…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 10:30 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Put an Avs Unipron (Jersey) on him and that’s what he looked like last night against the Yotes.

He kept asking his defense “which way did it go?”

I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.

Now and then we had the hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be PIRATES.
-Mark Twain-

by Americanario on Dec 24, 2008 10:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Here’s Raycroft’s first season with Toronto:

Raycroft
06-07 2.99GAA 0.894SV%

This was so bad it prompted Toronto to go out and get Vesa Toskala, who currently looks like this:

Toskala
08-09 3.30GAA 0.882SV%

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 10:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As much as Toskala sucks compared to Raycroft, Tellqvist, and Clemmenson, and will ruin this team for the next two years, one should point out just what a piece of shit Jeff Finger has turned out to be for 3.5 a year. So remember back to this summer when other teams fans were laughing at us for signing him to that contract? They were all right.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 10:54 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I currently disagree with you...

however, you called Toskala two months before all this happened, so you might be Kreskin-esque…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 10:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ahem.

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 11:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

'scuse you...

however, you post me on the FTB’s like PPP and maybe some kudo’s will come your way… :P

seriously, i recall penaltyshots saying that Toskala was the suck a while back, whether or not that was before you, i have no idea…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:05 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Meh

I don’t see how he will ruin the team for the next two years and I disagree about Finger. It’s definitely an overpay but he’s far from a piece of shit.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 10:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just re-read our Toskala counterpoint where you advocated playing Cujo more.

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 11:01 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just re-read all of your trashing of Dominic Moore and Matt Stajan.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

'dems fightin werds....

i’m still waiting for the wheels to fall off on Stajan. I truly can not see him as, what he currently projects to be barring injury, a 70+ point man.

it’s weird because, this isn’t even a contract year for him…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Stajan

did suck until he was benched and likely told that he would be waived if he didn’t start playing harder. If Dominic Moore never played another game, would he be missed? He is much the same as Boyd Deveraux-seems ok, but just another plug. I wanted to play joseph again because Toskala sucked so bad and we had to make sure Joseph wasn’t a valid option. Finger should be making less than 2.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Stajan was benched what? 3 games into the season?

Dominic Moore is a pretty big part of the Leafs’ best line right now. He’s not a superstar but neither are Maltby or Draper. He’s the kind of guy that you need on your team to succeed.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well said. I agree totally.

by Darryl Sittler's 10 Pt Night on Dec 24, 2008 12:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They should take Moore’s name off the back of his jersey and replace it with “Second Round Pick at the Deadline”.

Keep it up, Dom.

Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.

by Down Goes Brown on Dec 24, 2008 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Go read the game thread on Monday for just before Moore scored, then come back and thank me.

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

by Chemmy on Dec 24, 2008 11:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you need to turn that voodoo on Kulemin, for the good of the team…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I love disregarding a players past performance over the year and judging him harshly on an extremely small sample size.

Finger has played well. His contract may be a little inflated, but 75% of the contracts in the league are inflated.

by Darryl Sittler's 10 Pt Night on Dec 24, 2008 12:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Having

the worst starter in the league for the next two years will certainly ruin the team. NOt to mention the development of our young players who will learn to lose and never make the playoffs to improve. A friend of mine has a theory that in order for your young players to truly develope into the best they can be they need to taste playoffs often and early. Certainly explains the Red WIngs.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 11:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agree

100%. Bang on.

by general borschevsky on Dec 24, 2008 11:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

A friend of mine has a theory that in order for your young players to truly develope into the best they can be they need to taste playoffs often and early.

I agree with that but you’re assuming that Toskala is going to be the starting goalie for the next season and a half.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I truly

hope that next year I am bitching about having a 4 million dollar backup. I truly do. He is untradeable due to his contract and play.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 11:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

that's what all the cap space we're carrying is for...

buy outs!

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I want to punch JFJ right in the balls.

Down Goes Brown - Unapologetically nostalgic for the past. Brutally realistic about the present. Grudgingly optimistic about the future.

by Down Goes Brown on Dec 24, 2008 11:39 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just once?

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sydney did what now?

by general borschevsky on Dec 24, 2008 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You Will Be

There is no way that he is the starter next whether that is via a trade, buyout, or demotion.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hoorah

now I wish I had a present for you in return ppp.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 11:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The Wings have also had the luxury of slowly integrating their young players because they still have stars that carry the load. When Zetterberg and Datsyuk came into the league they weren’t thrust into prominent roles, but rather they allowed to develop on lower lines while stars like Shanny and Lidstrom leading the way.

Now that Zetterberg and Datsyuk are stars they have slowly developed players like Hudler and Franzen so when they have to make tough cap decision they can let players go because they have others ready to step right in and not miss a beat.

by Darryl Sittler's 10 Pt Night on Dec 24, 2008 12:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

So we’re officially rooting for Hedman over Tavares?

by WildWolfdog on Dec 24, 2008 11:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I heard Hedman

got absolutely creamed by some guy on Canada. I’m going to youtube it now. I’m for Tavares.

by penaltyshots on Dec 24, 2008 11:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

not here in California...

I like our D the way it is, and would love to see Tavares in toronto.

my only worry is the expectation on him to be better than Gretzky would be instantaneous. any pick that high will be under tremendous pressure…

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah

They better do a lot of psych tests.

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure

I missed Hedman getting crushed but I was impressed with him from what I saw in the exhibition. He is a ridiculously smooth skater for a guy that’s 6’7". Plus imagine him and Schenn for 15 years as anchors!

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

by PPP on Dec 24, 2008 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what i read on TSN

was that Tavares play in the world juniors has pushed him back up to #1 overall according to central scouting.

not sure if Hedman’s not playing well, but it seems to me Tavares likes playing in an environment with equal talent (for and against) and some high pressure.

he seems to be coasting his last year in junior (for him, he’s still heads and tails above most…)

"You do dat, you go to da box, you know, uh, two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know, and then you get free."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Dec 24, 2008 11:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs