This week for Puck Prospectus/ESPN Insider, I touched on the Maple Leafs’ struggles so far this season. Is goaltending to blame? The team’s new defensemen? Or the lack of scoring from the team’s forwards?
Here is an excerpt:
With the additions of Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin to the group’s top four, it looked as though the Leafs would have a healthy balance of size, speed and offensive ability on the back end. At least, that’s how it seemed. As the team’s 0-7-1 start vividly illustrates, Toronto’s defense has been anything but solid.
As the early-season media storm indicated, part of the Leafs’ defensive struggles have been attributable to the team’s goaltending. While the opening-night tandem of Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson has battled injuries in the early going, neither has performed well. Add in replacement Joey MacDonald and the picture gets no brighter. None of the three keepers supports a save percentage above .900, while Toskala sports a wretched .812 mark in his four games.
Read the entire article here.
