As I said in my earlier blog about Colton Orr, things have been a little slow lately, and I do apologize to everyone visiting this site for my lack of recent articles, but as much as you all like to read, and I like to write Leafs, it’s pretty hard finding interesting and compelling topics that aren’t all chewed up, so I’ve decided to tone down my output for a little while, until things get hot again. What good is another article about Kaberle? All possibilities have been dissected, analyzed and looked through. I could, for all intents and purposes churn out another article like that, maybe one entitled Dustin Brown To The Leafs? But that’s not how I do things. My goal is to be realistic and that’s one of the reasons I’ve joined this site. It’s also one of the reasons things have been going a little slow lately, but be sure it will bound to pick up as soon as Burke dips into the market. People here work hard to get you a realistic take on the Leafs situation without going overboard. My fellow writers did a fantastic job with a couple of recent articles and now it’s my turn. This one is about our goaltenders. Who’s going to be No1 next year?

JS Giguere is still, in my book, a guy that a team can rely on. He’s a goaltender that has won the Conn Smythe with a losing team in the Stanley Cup Finals, he’s a Stanley Cup winner and a former All Star. He’s also a battle tested veteran goaltender who can be an excellent mentor to Jonas Gustavsson during the course of next season. Here are the main reasons why I think Giggy should handle at least 55% of games next season. First off, like I said, he is a proven class goaltender. He’s a veteran who knows how to play big games and rarely gets rattled. With Francois Allaire helping him throughout the whole year it’s possible he could once again reach that elite status he had with the Ducks when they won the Stanley Cup. His poise and positioning is still off the charts plus him being with the team for a full season and fully adapted to the new environment could very well prove a jackpot for the Leafs.

As much as some of us want Jonas to take the job from Giggy, cause let’s face it, younger is always better, don’t count on it happening just yet. I agree, having the confidence to give your projected future No1 60-65% of the starts next season is always a good thing. But, we have to keep in mind that our Monster is still learning the game. Yes, he had decent numbers last year (great numbers if you consider the team in front of him) – 42 games, 16 wins, 15 losses and 9 OT losses with a save percentage of .902 and a GAA of 2.87. But that still only through 41 games. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the lions share of the work. Don’t get me wrong, I think Jonas is good. Really good. My guess is if he played on a team like the Red Wings or the Devils he would be far more appreciated. He has a huge frame and plays a style similar to Giggy, a style Allaire can mold to perfection. He covers most of the net but still shows fantastic reflexes and agility for such a big guy. He is also a really good team player. The same can be said for Giggy. It’s a real asset having such a duo. That’s why my guess is that they’ll share the load. 50-50 split between the two of them would be logical. It would give Jonas a good number of starts without having to carry the load just yet, and Giguere would also be happy with his playing time. Of course, that will only be a plan for the start of the season and if one can steal the job that would be good. I prefer a hockey team with a clear cut No1 and I’m hoping Jonas can steal it. That would fit nicely into our development plan. To add to that, the benefit of having Giguere here for the duration of the season can only help Jonas develop even further. They way Giggy trains, he’ll push him to the brink and that’s where a true No1 goaltender, if he is to be one, has to shine. That said, as things stand right now, I still have more confidence in a proven veteran goaltender like Giguere.

Mislav “Xterratu” Jantoljak