Blunted Razor: The Maple Leafs' Goalie Woes

When John Ferguson Jr. brought Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was big news—especially since the Leafs were in desperate need of a real starting goaltender.

Unfortunately, the move cost Toronto a first-round pick—which could have been used to select Angelo Esposito or Alexei Cherepanov—and the problem in goal is a long way from solved.

During the preseason, the Leafs were embarrassed at home. Coach Paul Maurice told everyone to calm down, drink some tea, and accept the fact that the sky wasn't falling.

Though his words were encouraging, the loss was hard to ignore.

Goalie Andrew Raycroft got the nod in the opener and—surprise, surprise—his inconsistency, as well as a poor effort on defense, cost the Leafs the win.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Raycroft of 2004, who went 29-18-9 with a GAA of 2.05 and a save percentage of .926?

Raycroft won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie that year—but it's been all downhill since. At an age when most goalies enter their primes, Raycroft seems to have lost his edge.

Speaking of edge—Raycroft's nickname is Razor.

Why?

As I see it, there are three possibilities: It was hung on him during his junior days or Calder winning performance; it's meant as an insult; or whoever gave it to him was simply on crack.

In any event, that razor is DULL.

Vesa Toskala has started most games since the opener. He was sharp early on, but has struggled as of late.

The Leafs recently lost 7-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Many analysts said Toskala was the best part of the game—but I don't care what they say.

Seven goals on 39 shots warrants a pull, no matter how many highlight-reel saves you made.

There’s a word for that kind of performance:

INCONSISTENT.

Remind you of anyone? Starts with an R, ends with an Aycroft. The last thing the Leafs need is another Andrew Raycroft between the pipes.

Consider the Leafs' last outing against the Washington Capitals—a team that missed the playoffs last year, made no big positive offseason changes aside from Michael Nylander, and were down three of their best players going into the game.

Toskala made a huge save early, but went on to allow four goals on just 13 shots before being replaced by Raycroft—who didn't do much better, allowing three goals on 17 shots.

As it stands, both Toskala and Raycroft need to improve if the Leafs plan to make the playoffs. In fairness, it's not all their fault, as the defense desperately needs to get better, and shares perhaps the largest portion of blame.

After all, the Leafs' potent offense can only take them so far.