When you consider the overall depth between the pipes for the Toronto Maple Leafs there are far more questions than sure things. Sure, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has the likes of James Reimer, Ben Scrivens (pending RFA this summer), Jussi Rynnas (pending RFA this summer) and Mark Owuya in the system, but what has he really got? James Reimer’s disruptive injuries last season saw him go from a franchise savior in 2010-11 to a very average goaltender in 2011-12. Sophomore slumps occur for many second year goaltenders. In the case of Reimer, most of his issues look to be injury related, although there are those that continue to lament that Reimer’s weak glove hand and lack of focus on soft goals will ultimately lead to his demise as a legitimate NHL goalie. Meanwhile, Scrivens is having an

With rumors swirling around the internet and the daily rags about Roberto Luongo’s future with the Vancouver Canucks and a possible trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs, I couldn’t help but think back to last summer’s UFA signings and how they panned out for their respective teams. Sure, big trades and big signings are what drives the headlines, but what about the smaller, less sexy moves? How do they fit into the equation? While not the most popular signings, sometimes a teams depth moves prove to be the best ones of the off-season, which brought to mind two players for me. The players in question would be a pair of veterans who, while probably well past their prime, have made invaluable contributions to the St. Louis Blues organization, throughout the regular season and the playoffs. Known for their leadership and

Several sources are reporting that Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo has asked to be traded. While it may be true that Luongo “wants” to be traded, the Vancouver Province is reporting that Luongo has, in fact, not given Canucks general manager Mike Gillis a list of teams that he would be willing to be traded to. “We’ve met, but we’ve decided we’ll take our time and talk in the next few days over the phone,” Gillis said in a the Team 1040 interview today. “I think we all need to take a deep breath. The early exit from the playoffs, not meeting our expectations, can lead you to make some pretty poor decisions in a real hurry.” Early reports had the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers making Luongo’s short list as teams he would be willing

A few weeks ago Toronto Maple Leafs general manager held his year end press conference with the media to discuss the 2011-12 season and the direction he plans on taking the Maple Leafs. During that press conference Burke made it abundantly clear that he wanted to make an upgrade between the pipes, which will likely see Jonas Gustavsson let go and James Reimer stay with the big club with an additional netminder being brought in to solidify the goaltending position. As we have discussed here in other articles, there are very few goaltending options for Burke via free agency this summer, which means, if Burke is going to upgrade one of his goalies at the AHL level will have to shine during the pre-season or, more likely, Burke will have to acquire a goaltender via trade. Anytime you talk about

According to capgeek.com, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has a total of $56.7 million wrapped up in 17 players for the 2012-13 season. Based on a salary cap of $64.3 million that leaves Burke with about $7.6 million with which to fill out his roster. Burke has already hinted at the fact that he will be looking to make an upgrade between the pipes but with few options available via the free agent market Burke will likely have to find his goaltender via the trade route. One would have to think any goalie worth his weight would have to cost Burke at least $1.5 million. That said, Burke could chose to spend more than $1.5 million on a new goaltender, but with little wiggle room, there is every reason to believe Burke will continue to attempt to address

If you watched Brian Burke’s press conference last week one thing became very clear—Jonas “the monster” Gustavsson will not be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. The goaltender Burke once called “the best goalie not playing in the NHL” has been nothing short of mediocre since joining the Maple Leafs in 2009-10. Through 107 career NHL games, Gustavsson assembled a 39-45-15 record to go along with a 2.92 goals against average and a paltry .902 save percentage. Gusatvsson had 17 of those wins this season (a career high) but outside of the four shutouts he earned, you never really got the feeling he was a legitimate number one goaltender. With James Reimer on the shelf for much of the season Gustavsson was given every opportunity to snatch the starters role from Reimer’s hands. Instead, Gustavsson looks to have