Reading the Tea Leafs: Vesa Toskala

Following on the success of two other dormant series PPP and I have decided that in order to fill the gap in NHL news that we'll take a look at each of the current Leafs, possible Leafs on the Marlies, janitors, marketing interns and prospects. We'll recap their performance last year, what we can expect from them,  and how they can win our hearts (hint: signing the contract was a good first step...unless your name is Bryan McCabe Ian White). We have no idea how long of a series this will end up being or how consistent it will be but with two of us expect it to only be half as half-assed and twice as timely. 

Vesa, he's everywhere you want to be.

Contract Status (according to NHL Numbers)
$4M, $4M cap hit, UFA July 1, 2010.

Age (as of October 1, 2008)
31 - May 20, 1977

NHL Seasons
181GP in six NHL seasons, 66GP last year.

Run of the Mill Biographical Information 

Former Leaf he'd have to play like in order to be christened a deity
Felix.

Biggest Question Marks
Will Vesku get any help out there? A .904 SV% last year and a 2.74GAA should have given the Leafs plenty of chances to win games. The Leafs scored 2.81 goals per game, which is above 2.74 goals against with Vesa in net for those of you keeping score at home.

Player Summary
Toskala let in a 197 foot goal, and we all got over it. Does anyone else hate the Islanders?

Toskala had an OK start to the season, got hot, hurt his groin bedding coeds from Humber, and then came back and acquitted himself well. Toskala needs to shoulder a lot more of the load than 66 games next season.

Projected 2008-2009 role/team
I'm going to go out on a limb and call Vesku our starting goaltender. If Vesa plays well all season it's possible he could get dealt at the trade deadline though normally teams that are going to the playoffs already have a goaltender. A trade deadline move opens up the door for Pogge to transition into the starting role. Another possible option is keeping Toskala, and having Toskala and Pogge go 1A 1B in 09-10.

I realize that this is more about Pogge than Toskala, but if the Leafs are going to become a good team their success will hinge upon transitioning from players like Toskala to players like Pogge.