Gustavsson

[Rebel_1812]

So you had faith in Goose but the last 5 periods has removed that somehow?

I had some hope that he could play well given that his injures should be behind him and Reimer is now the established #1 goalie. There was no pressure on Gustavsson to somehow step in and play a starting role. Given that he's had a full season in the league, worked with Allaire the entire time you would want to see progress in his play. I hate to say it but he actually looked BETTER when he first signed with the Leafs then he does now.

When has he played a full season in the nhl? He might not look as sharp in some ways but that's a pretty small sample size for me, 5 periods of hockey. Like I said before if that's how we're treating it I think Reimer's play is more worrisome, fwiw.

He joined the Leafs 2 seasons ago. He's played in both seasons but injuries have prevented him from playing a heavy workload. Still he's been in and around the big club for a good chunk of the time, I would have hoped to see improvement from him but like I said he actually seems to be regressing.

agreed.  He was suppose to be a good young goalie from sweden.  Young players usually get better.  However, even with the best goaltending coach in the league he has not shown any improvement.  This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

 

[anton girdeaux]

Very harsh considering his injuries have been heart related, and that's kinda' serious, right?

 

[Stebro]

I think that Gustavsson has been quite average in the games I've seen him. He can do much better than what he is showing, I think it's more of a problem related to his confidence. I've been quite disappointed with some easy goals that he has let in though. However, even if it is confidence related you can't keep on playing a goalie unless you get the wins. We can't afford losing games for the wrong reasons. I say give him 7-8 games or so, if he continues to play average, trade for another goalie.

 

[cw]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

Particularly when he stayed in Toronto this summer to focus exclusively on improving that.

According to a Leafs management interview, he'd been having trouble putting on any 'good' weight. Fast metabolism or something like that was at issue. He basically proved it to them - that he'd do what they recommended and nothing changed. So he stayed in Toronto this summer where a fitness expert could closely supervise his training and then adjust it and his diet to help him. He probably had his heart monitored as he went along. He showed up at camp having gained some 'good' weight in the best condition they've seen him.

The racing heart beat problem he had is commonly caused in young people by an extra electrical pathway (circuit) in the heart. Basically, it's a birth/development defect - not from something he did or did not do in developing his fitness. Prior to diagnosis, it could have been (probably was) fatiguing him and retarding his fitness efforts (and maybe, with a racing heartbeat, affecting his faster metabolism). The fact that it persisted (three ablation procedures over two years) couldn't have helped his fitness either because he'd likely feel some unusual fatigue/symptoms while it persisted followed by being shut down for a while after his ablation procedures. And that ignores what all he's gone through might do to someone's mental thoughts.

The heavy, heavy odds are that this happened through absolutely no fault of his own. In the wake of losing his mother just before he signed (having lost his father four years before), I think the guy has been through a fair ordeal, on top of trying to find his way in a new country speaking a language he was unfamiliar with. So I find the suggestion heavily laced with ignorance or conjecture and as such, rather outrageous given what he's gone through.

Having said that, it doesn't change the fact that the Leafs are a hockey team who has to ice their best goaltenders - even when one of their goalies has been through a bunch of stuff through no fault of his own.

 

[Zee]

I fully expect a big loss tonight with Gustavsson in net, I'll be the most surprised if he turns in a solid game and gives the Leafs a chance to win.

 

[Redleaf]

I fully expect a big loss tonight with Gustavsson in net, I'll be the most surprised if he turns in a solid game and gives the Leafs a chance to win.

If he 'finds a nugget' and gets the win tonight, how much will that improve his overall confidence? Much like Cherry was saying on Saturday night, Wilson likes to put guys in these types of situations. While many fans think he's throwing them under the bus, I agree with Cherry on this one. By putting in Gus in against the Bruins last week, he said if Gus wins, then its a huge boost, and if he loses 'he was supposed to'. Much like throwing Frattin into the SO, I like this tactic, but for sure it can backfire pretty badly as well. And if it backfires too much, it can cause overall confidence issues with players. Its definately a gamblers approach, but has a potentially high pay out.

 

[cabber24]

He's due for a good game. I have faith in him, there's a reason he was so highly sought after. I remember reading before the last Olympics the Swedish coach stating it wasn't a lock that Lundqvist would be the their No. 1 with Gus in the fold. He's never really had the opportunity to run with it... now that the pressure is off I think he'll turn it around. The game in MTL was shootout I don't blame him for giving up as many as he did on Saturday.

 

[Rebel_1812]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

He his fragile, which is usually the result of not being in great shape.  He has not shown improvement with the best goalie coach, also indictive of putting no extra effort into his craft.  Considering how many accusations of this kind were used against Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, O'Neil, Suglobov, Raycroft and others; I find it funny people are being defensive for Gustavsson.

 

[Bullfrog]

He his fragile, which is usually the result of not being in great shape.  He has not shown improvement with the best goalie coach, also indictive of putting no extra effort into his craft. 

If you're going to make speculative statements, at least make them somewhat based on reality. In 2009, he missed 5 games due to a groin injury. He's not had a single injury *that has resulted in missed time* in his AHL/NHL career outside of that.

*added for clarity*

 

[Tigger]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

He his fragile, which is usually the result of not being in great shape.  He has not shown improvement with the best goalie coach, also indictive of putting no extra effort into his craft.  Considering how many accusations of this kind were used against Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, O'Neil, Suglobov, Raycroft and others; I find it funny people are being defensive for Gustavsson.

IIRC Burke said he put on significant weight this year, maybe that has something to do with it? He also said he had difficulty putting on weight.

I find it funny that, typically, the 'what have you done for me lately' mentality among Leaf fans continues with even smaller sample sizes.

Edit, I see cw beat me to it.

 

[princedpw]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

He his fragile, which is usually the result of not being in great shape.  He has not shown improvement with the best goalie coach, also indictive of putting no extra effort into his craft. 

I haven't been reading this thread, so I apologize if I'm taking comments out of context, but ... you are inferring that because Gustavsson has heart problems (the major source of his missed time), he's lazy?  Really?

And every goalie that works with Allaire is guaranteed a .900 save percentage in the NHL provided they put in the effort?  That's all there is to it?  Because goaltending development is known to be so easy to achieve and to follow a steady linear progression?

 

[nutman]

Heres hoping for a great game from the monster. 8)

 

[crazyperfectdevil]

This fact in addition to his constant injuries shows he doesn't put in much effort off the ice.

That's a pretty serious accusation to levy at a professional athlete without any proof.

He his fragile, which is usually the result of not being in great shape.  He has not shown improvement with the best goalie coach, also indictive of putting no extra effort into his craft.  Considering how many accusations of this kind were used against Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, O'Neil, Suglobov, Raycroft and others; I find it funny people are being defensive for Gustavsson.

wow...people having sympathy for someone for things they can't control?  how strange

 

[Zee]

I find it funny that, typically, the 'what have you done for me lately' mentality among Leaf fans continues with even smaller sample sizes.

Edit, I see cw beat me to it.

I don't think it's a case of "what have you done for me lately" given that Gustavsson has never had a sustained period of excellence in net with the Leafs.  In my eyes, he's yet to prove he's a capable NHL goalie on a consistent basis.  It's not as if he was a great Leafs goalie and has fallen on hard times, he's never lived up to the original hype of when we signed him. 

I'm aware of all his personal and health issues that surely affected his development, but at the end of the day you have to win hockey games. 

 

[AvroArrow]

Heres hoping for a great game from the monster. 8)

I support this statement.

 

[Tigger]

I find it funny that, typically, the 'what have you done for me lately' mentality among Leaf fans continues with even smaller sample sizes.

Edit, I see cw beat me to it.

I don't think it's a case of "what have you done for me lately" given that Gustavsson has never had a sustained period of excellence in net with the Leafs.  In my eyes, he's yet to prove he's a capable NHL goalie on a consistent basis.  It's not as if he was a great Leafs goalie and has fallen on hard times, he's never lived up to the original hype of when we signed him. 

I'm aware of all his personal and health issues that surely affected his development, but at the end of the day you have to win hockey games.

He's 1-1.

I guess that's what happens when you buy hype in bulk, next thing you know it's on your hands, your shirt and everything.

 

[Guilt Trip]

..... but I hope he gets it back, because he has shown the ability make amazing saves, relying on his anticipation alone.  It's almost like when it's a clear shot on net, he just has too much time to think.

One other thing, why was his glove so low on Cammalleri's shot?  I thought the typical butterfly stance was to have your glove high, because you can drop it quicker than you can raise it.  On the replay though, his glove is down by his knee. 

That's Allaire's teaching...I've said it before...not every goalie can play Allaire's style and Gus might be one of them. Gus is playing purely positional, like Reimer, and if his location is the slightest bit off, they score. I really don't understand the teaching here. These goalies drop at the thought of a shot now. Gus stands still, Cammalleri hits him. Why on earth are these supposed goalie guru's teaching these guys not to stand up when it's a clear shot is beyond me. For me, Gus' biggest problem at first was been being over active and he took himself out of position. Now after 2 plus years with Allaire to me, he's regressed and doesn't rely on his reactions anymore. He's trying a pure positional game. Fact is, the Leafs won Saturday despite Gus...He was a better goalie then he's shown and I wonder if he can ever get it all together. I sure hope so but sometimes coaches don't work with certain players, and if that's is indeed the case here, Gus is done...that would be a shame....

 

[Kin]

He's 1-1.

I guess that's what happens when you buy hype in bulk, next thing you know it's on your hands, your shirt and everything.

Exactly. This would be an overreaction if Gus were 0-2 and both games had seen a great Leafs team undone by terrible goaltending. A scenario that bears pretty much no relation to what actually happened.

 

[Guilt Trip]

He's 1-1.

I guess that's what happens when you buy hype in bulk, next thing you know it's on your hands, your shirt and everything.

Exactly. This would be an overreaction if Gus were 0-2 and both games had seen a great Leafs team undone by terrible goaltending. A scenario that bears pretty much no relation to what actually happened.

If the Leafs got decent goaltending Saturday, they win easy. Gus was the only reason the Habs got a point.