TORONTO -- As promised, I dutifully report back from the Maple Leafs' pregame skate, where people waited with bated breath for the verdict.
"The Monster" is in.
The fans got their way.
So did some media members.
"Put Him In, Coach" read the banner headline on the front page of the Toronto Sun on Tuesday, referring to Swedish rookie netminder Jonas Gustavsson.
Prominent Toronto Star hockey columnist Damien Cox also had urged the Leafs in Sunday's newspaper to bench Vesa Toskala in favor of Gustavsson.
The 24-year-old Swede will indeed start Tuesday night against the rival Ottawa Senators, but it was easy to see that Leafs coach Ron Wilson was irked by the way this became such a hot topic just two games into the regular season.
"I feel bad for Vesa that he's being put in this position when he hasn't done anything wrong," Wilson told the assembled media corps after Tuesday's pregame skate. "He's a good goalie, and he's going to work hard in practice. He might start the next game, he might not. I can't tell you.
"I trust that he'll get the job done. If he was a racehorse, you would say he's not in form right there. So you work hard in practice, and I'm confident he'll be able to play on the weekend and give us just as good of a chance to win as Jonas we're hoping gives us tonight."
Given the hype that surrounded The Monster upon his arrival, this was the most predictable storyline of the season in Toronto. Leafs GM Brian Burke beat out Dallas, Colorado and San Jose for the goalie's services as one of his many offseason moves. So just from that standpoint alone, you knew Gustavsson eventually would get a serious look, given that he was signed by Burke while Toskala was not. Not to mention the fact that Toskala is in the final year of a deal that pays him $4 million and very well may be trade bait come the March 3 trade deadline.
The only surprising part in all this is how quickly the story boiled over. I mean, two games? Even Gustavsson himself laughed Tuesday when asked about his already fan-favorite status in Leaf Nation.
"I don't know if I'm a favorite," he said somewhat sheepishly. "I haven't played anything here yet. I mean, I've played a couple of periods and a practice game. That's too early. I guess it's because of you guys writing a lot about me. Of course, you want to make the fans happy. If you play good, probably they're going to stay happy."
On the final Saturday of the preseason, fans were on their feet at Air Canada Centre when Gustavsson, playing the final two periods, shut out the Grand Rapids, er, I mean, Detroit Red Wings. The place was going berserk for him. In the preseason. You have to know that at that point Toskala already knew some of the script for this season. But whether he did or not, the 32-year-old Toskala surely can't enjoy the early hook. Who can blame him?
"If I can decide, I play every game," Toskala said after the pregame skate, short, courteous and to the point. "Coaches decide who plays, so I have nothing to say."
Wilson spoke with Toskala on Monday to explain his decision, but the veteran coach obviously is clearly irritated that it's such a big deal in the media.
"I didn't think [Toskala] was going to play 82 games this year," Wilson said. "So this is our third game, and The Monster is getting a start. It's nothing more than that."
Gustavsson looked cool as a cucumber as he discussed his first career NHL start. Then again, he didn't see the headline in the Toronto Sun on Tuesday.
"For myself, I don't read so much, so I don't know so much what you guys are writing or saying," he said.
It's not as if there wasn't any hockey coverage back home in hockey-crazy Sweden. In fact, there's some serious tabloid journalism in some of its sports coverage. But a full-blown goalie controversy just two games in the season? Now that's intense.
"Back home, during playoffs, it's something every day," Gustavsson said of the media coverage. "Here, it's like the playoffs every day. That's the big difference. But I don't mind; it's part of our job to handle media."
And stop the puck.
Pierre LeBrun
