Toskala wants to be No. 1 - Toskala vs Raycroft

[Brent]

Toskala wants to be No. 1

"When Andrew Raycroft was traded to Toronto last year, the native of Belleville, Ont., decorated his goalie mask with pictures of Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler and other Maple Leafs legends.
All Vesa Toskala did was swap teal for dark blue. Everything else - from the "demon skull" that adorns the 30-year-old's mask to his long-held belief that he should be a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL - has remained the same."

Source (http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/story.html?id=f9bf5894-b6b4-496d-8adf-bb6199051414)

[Walesy]

Raycroft was not that bad. 37 wins is good in my books. 8 Million could have bought some nice defence.

[Brent]

lol, nope, not good enough!!

Toronto was 8th in the league in goals for, or 2 goals shy of being the 6th highest scoring team in the damn league!

However, they were 6th worse in the league for goals against. Toronto does not have the best defense in the world but they do know how to move the puck and they are not to blame for this. Raycrofts inability to glove a puck and his lack of passion for the game cost the Leafs about 10 wins last year. 37 wins is relevant, though that was Raycrofts sad excuse at the end of the year too,,, "i got 37 wins, i'm happy" That is not good enough in a hockey town like Toronto!

[Walesy]

I hope Toskala puts up 50 wins this year. Otherwise he doesn't have a chance in a hockey town like Toronto.

[Brent]

50 wins sounds about right. :)

[Walesy]

TSN's fantasy preview for the Leafs is projecting that Toskala will only win 30 games this year. Is that better then Raycroft?

W GAA SPCT SO
30 2.35 .908 3


http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/columnists/scott_cullen/?ID=218214

[Brent]

lol. Yeah, if Raycroft was splitting time with someone like Toskala last year he would have had 10 wins or less because he would be riding the bench,, like he will be this year. So my projection is 45 wins Toskala, 10 Raycroft. :D

[Walesy]

Care to make a wager on that.....:rolleyes:

[Brent]

lol, maybe

[Walesy]

I sure hope that Toskala doesn't let in softies all season like he did last night. He might only win 37 games and get booed out of the #1 goalie spot.

[Brent]

lol, Toskala will be fine.

[Walesy]

"Ryan Miller sparkled in the Sabres nets, while new Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala had another nightmare of a night."

Leafs loose 7-2 to the sabres

When does he start to be fine?

[Brent]

lol, Toskala will start to be fine when the regular season starts.

Right now he is just playing a game,,, either teasing Raysoft or trying to make him feel comfortable and not look so bad.

[Brent]

Vesa Toskala

Vesa Toskala was drafted 90th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He made is NHL debut on November 24, 2001, in a ten-minute relief effort of Evgeni Nabokov allowing no goals on two shots by the Kings... Since then he has compiled an impressive NHL record of 65 wins 28 losses 2.35GAA .914 Save% over 5 years as the Sharks backup. (115 games played, 99 games started)

Vesa used to be considered untouchable by the San Jose franchise and was lined up to be their main man behind Nabakov,,, while shipping Miikka Kiprusoff off to Calgary in 2003 for a 2nd round draft pick. So it seems to be very fortunate for Toronto to have acquired Vesa when he reportedly went on the market last year.

Vesa Toskala, nick named "Vesku" has a new mask ready to go for this season, crafted by artist Frank Cipra (Cipra Design)
(http://www.cipradesign.com/frank_cipra.htm)
Here are some images provided by Bob Orr (http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h87/bob_laura/).
http://www.hockey5.com/images/hockey_images/vesa_mask2.jpg
http://www.hockey5.com/images/hockey_images/vesa_mask1.jpg


While I do not know any of the inspiration or story behind the mask I do like the fact that it is a standout design. It should go well with Toskala's standout attitude and I look forward to seeing him as Toronto's #1 goalie this year! Andrew Raycroft did great and all but he in my opinion has a very lackadaisical attitude and wasted too many games letting in soft goals... and all he had to say about it at the end of the year was how proud he was that he had 37 wins but little concern about the Leafs not making the playoffs or what he is going to do better next year. Toronto fans demand a hockey man,,, and Raysoft's hockey passion just doesn't seem to cut it for this market.

So again, welcome Vesa!!!

[Walesy]

"Incumbent Andrew Raycroft will start tonight over Vesa Toskala. "

GO TOSKALA GO

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=219781&hubname=

[Brent]

lol, blah humbug

[Walesy]

Guess Toskala gets his chance tonight. At least he won't have to worry about the fans booing him when he touches the puck.......that only happens at the ACC

[Brent]

Toskala wants to be No. 1

"When Andrew Raycroft was traded to Toronto last year, the native of Belleville, Ont., decorated his goalie mask with pictures of Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler and other Maple Leafs legends.
All Vesa Toskala did was swap teal for dark blue. Everything else - from the "demon skull" that adorns the 30-year-old's mask to his long-held belief that he should be a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL - has remained the same."

Source (http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/story.html?id=f9bf5894-b6b4-496d-8adf-bb6199051414)


I finally found out what that skull is all about.

His Mask has been the same since 1999. "It is mainly a drawing of a skull that I saw in Tattoo Magazine in Finland." says Toskala.