Posts Tagged Jonas Gustavsson
Jonas Gustavsson Agrees to Extension with Maple Leafs
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News on April 15th, 2010
The Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a 2 year extension with netminder Jonas ‘the Monster’ Gustavsson. The contract hasn’t been signed yet, but the agreement will pay Gustavsson an average of $1.35 million per season.
Gustavsson played in 41 games in his rookie season, posting a 16-14-9 record, with a 2.82 GAA and .904 SV%.
Gustavsson had a bit of an up and down season, but his play improved when JS Giguere around trade deadline time. The $1.35 million cap hit is a good number for the Leafs, and is lower then originally rumored. The Leafs goalie tandem of Giguere and Gustavsson will earn $8.35 million next season with a total cap number of $7.35 million.
Teemu Back? Kozlov Rips Coaches in Atlanta … Koivu Wants to Stay … Maple Leafs Coaches Safe
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on April 13th, 2010
- Randy Youngman of the OC Register: It’s sounding more and more like Teemu Selanne might return to the Ducks next season and put off retirement for atleast one more season.
•”If you had asked me two months ago, it would have been easy to think, ‘This is it.’ But the way we have played since then (23-14-4 in the second half), after I got healthy, it’s been so much fun.”• “Obviously, I’m going to have a lot of time to rest this summer. It’s disappointing, because we had way too good a team to miss the playoffs. But in some ways, the tank doesn’t feel even close to empty.”
•”I feel I can still play. I still have my speed and my strength – those are the skills that make me successful. If they weren’t good enough to play at this level, it would be easy to do something else.”
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Slava Kozlov had some parting shots at the Atlanta Thrashers, blaming the coaching staff for the team’s failure to make the playoffs, citing lack of preparation and poor systems. Kozlov was a healthy scratch for 26 of the teams final 31 games. Kozlov had only good things to say about his teammates and organization as a whole, only bashing the coaches. He has a list of 5 or 6 teams that he’d consider signing with this off-season, and if that doesn’t pan out, he’ll head back to Russia and the KHL.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Saku Koivu has said he’d like to remain in Anaheim, and hopes negotiations will start before July 1st, but realizes that management has lots to evaluate with the season just ending.
- Lance Horby of the Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs assistant GM Dave Nonis has held some talks over the last 10 days with Jonas Gustavsson’s agent, Joe Resnick. Talks are moving forward on a multi-year deal.
- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News: Cowlishaw has heard that players still don’t understand Marc Crawford’s system, even after playing in it for season. The Stars should bring back Lehtinen, but is a good time for Mike Modano to hang up the blades.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke has said that his coaching staff is safe, and all will be brought back for next year. Coach Ron Wilson will focus more on the sad Maple Leafs power play from the get go at training camp.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Matt Duchene was on the ice yesterday, and might be ready to go for Avalanche in their series opener on Wednesday. Duchene was wearing an extra chest pad, covering his sternum. He suffered a ‘torse injury’ on Saturday.
- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: It is unknown at this point if Ray Whitney and Rod Brind’Amour will be returning to the Hurricanes next season. Whitney is a UFA and might re-sign. Brind’Amour is still under contract for 1 year, but at 39, he might retire.
Kovalev Out for Season … UFA Defenseman … Maple Leaf Questions this Off-Season
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News on April 11th, 2010
- Don Brennan of Canoe Sports: The Ottawa Senators have lost Alex Kovalev for the remained of the season with a completely torn ACL. He has surgery scheduled for 2 weeks, and rehab should be 3-4 months.
- Kevin Allen of the USA Today: Allen lists his top 15 free agent defenseman. Paul Martin will likely be looking for $5 million a season. If the Preds are re-sign Dan Hamhuis, which they’d like too, he’d probably have to take a bit of a hometown discount. It seems like Sergei Gonchar will take less than market value to remain with the Penguins.
- Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: Some names/questions that should be in the news regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs this off-season. Will Tomas Kaberle be traded? Will RFA Nikolai Kulemin return to Russia for more money? What number will Jonas Gustavsson re-sign for? If Kaberle isn’t dealt, will Francois Beauchemin be moved? Is it time for Mikhail Grabovski to move on, even for a mid-round pick? Will Dave Nonis leave to become a GM elsewhere? Potential trade partners could be the Blackhawks and Flyers, both who will have some salary cap decisions. Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp and Scott Hartnell could be potential trade targets.
Leafs Close Could be Close to Cap Next Year … Ice Edge Pulling Offer for Coyotes? Blue Jackets to Interview for Head Coaching Position … Kovalev Hurt
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on April 9th, 2010
- Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke isn’t worried about the Leafs cap situation for next season. “I’m not worried about (the cap),” general manager Brian Burke said. “We’re not shackled here. I don’t think we’re handcuffed. If I thought we were handcuffed, I’d tell you that.” If the Leafs go into next season with the same roster, and add Nazem Kadri, their cap number is about $51.55 million. About $55.55 million after resigning RFA Jonas Gustavsson and Nikolai Kulemin. Options they have to free up some money are demoting Jeff Finger to the minors, and/or listening to offers for Mike Komisarek or Francois Beauchemin. Tomas Kaberle is also a trade option.
- Toronto Sun: Ice Edge Holdings is considering pulling its offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, as talks with the city of Glendale aren’t going well.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: Hickey thinks that Martin Biron would be a good back up candidate for either the Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price next year for the Canadiens.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: A reader asks Mike of possible defensemen targets for the Dallas Stars this off-season through free agency or trade. Heika lists some possibilities as: Sergei Gonchar, Pavel Kubina, Kim Johnsson, Paul Martin, Derek Morris, Willie Mitchell, Anton Volchenkov and Dan Hamhuis.
- Pierre LeBrun via Twitter: Could be plenty of trades at the Draft this year according to a half dozen GM’s.
- Aaron Portzline of hte Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets interim coach Claude Noel has had some success since he took over for Ken Hitchcock, leading them to a 10-9-5 record down the stretch, but that doesn’t garantee him the coaching gig for next year. GM Scott Howson will interview at least 6 to 8 other candidates, including Noel. On the list could be Kevin Dineen (Portland AHL), Paul MacLean (Det. asst.), Brent Peterson (Nash. asst.), Kevin McCarthy (Phil. asst.), Scott Steven (NJ asst.), Jim Playfair, Craig MacTavish, Guy Boucher (Hamilton AHL) and Bob Boughner (Windsor OHL).
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Ottawa Senators may have lost Alex Kovalev for an indefinite period of time. Kovalev was helped off the ice in the second period with an injured left leg. Kovalev was unable to put any weight on his leg, more should be known today.
- Hockey Roundtable Podcast from the Globe and Mail: End of the line for Sather in NY and MVP talk. (How Sather is still there boogles my mind).
- Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers needed to kick start the rebuiding process hard this summer, and if they don`t, it would be a disappointment. Barnes lists the following players that could be on their way out: Charles Linglet, Dean Arsene, Aaron Johnson, Marc Pouliot, Patrick O’Sullivan, Fernando Pisani, Mike Comrie, Robert Nilsson, Devan Dubnyk, Ryan Potulny, Ryan Jones, Ethan Moreau and Sheldon Souray.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Goaltender Eddie Lack
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Opinion, NHL Rumors on April 5th, 2010
“Swedish newspaper Expressen is reporting that the Vancouver Canucks have signed free agent goaltender Eddie Lack.
The 6′2” 22-year-old played with Brynas in the Swedish Elite League last season, backing up the league’s best goalie in Jacob Markstrom.” (Source: TSN)
This gives the Canucks another goaltending prospect to compete for the back-up role behind Luongo. Cory Schneider has been less then impressive when he’s had the opportunity to play this season, with a 3.81 GAA and a .915 save % while failing to record a win in two outings. Last season wasn’t much better for Schneider, with 2 wins in 8 starts and a 3.38 GAA with a .877 save%.
The fans in Vancouver will need to be patient with Lack, much like the fans in Toronto have had to be with Jonas Gustavsson, as the learning curve from the Swedish Elite League to the NHL is steep, to say the least.
The one advantage that Gustavsson has had in Toronto is the opportunity to play, and face a lot of shots in the process, accelerating that learning curve. For Lack in Vancouver, the chances will be few and far between, with Roberto Luongo locked up for the long term, until 2021/22 to be exact.
Stamkos Almost a Ranger … Stars that Could be on the Block … Ovie has Advice for Filatov … Leafs-Gustavsson talking contract
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on April 5th, 2010
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Rangers GM Glen Sather said he ’shook hands’ on a deal with Lightning co-owner Len Barrie last year, that would have sent Steven Stamkos to the Rangers for 2 or 3 of Michael Del Zotto, Evgeny Grachev, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Dan Girardi. When Barrie took the proposed deal to GM Brian Lawton, Lawton shot it down. Barrie, still wanting to make the deal only needed approval from the other co-owner, Oren Koules. Koules shot it down as well.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Heika thinks that several Dallas Stars could be moved this off-season. Possible candidates are Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards, Matt Niskanen, Fabian Brunnstrom, and James Neal. Neal could be moved if they got a huge return. Ribeiro and Richards are tied together, in that if they can`t get Richards to sign an extension (contract expires after next season), they could move him. If they get Richards on an extension, Ribeiro could be expendable.
- Columbus Post-Dispatch: Alex Ovechkin has some advice for Nikita Filatov:
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, left, thinks that Blue Jackets prospect Nikita Filatov, a fellow Russian, must come back to the NHL from the Continental Hockey League. “If he wants to play in the NHL, he has to see how different players step up and play,” Ovechkin said.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A reader writes in and asks Molinari if the Penguins can/will re-sign Matt Cooke. If Cooke will re-sign for around the same $1.2 million cap hit, they’ll definitely consider it. If not, they have Dustin Jeffrey that might be ready to step in for that role.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Tomas Vanek (lower body) and Tim Connolly (foot) are still not close to returning to practice. The Sabres must be praying that they’ll be ready for the playoffs.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The 37-year-old Daniel Alfredsson will play his 1,000th game on Thursday. Alfie is still scoring at a point-a-game pace, and GM Bryan Murray figures he still has another 3 good years left.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Chris Mason steady play this season may earn him a contract extension with the Blues, and bide some time while they decide on who will be their goalie of the future. In their organization they have, Ben Bishop, Joe Fallon, and Jake Allen, but anyone of them may not be the answer they are looking for. Trading for Cory Schneider continues to be an option, but the Canucks may still want David Backes, which won’t happen. Price or Halak is another trade option, but they’d be in competition with several other teams.
- Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star: Preliminary talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jonas Gustavsson have begun, but Gustavsson isn`t paying attention to the financial side until after the season.
A Tribute To “Jiggy” From The Anaheim Ducks
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Opinion, NHL Rumors on February 1st, 2010
“We would like to sincerely thank Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the class, dignity and professionalism he showed on and off the ice during nine memorable seasons with the Ducks.
Among those countless memories are a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003, a Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and a number of franchise goaltending records.
Best of luck in Toronto, Jiggy.
Sincerely,
The Anaheim Ducks “ (Source: NHL.com/Ducks)
This statement is a show of class from the Anahiem Ducks to JS Giguere posted on NHL.com. In the wake of trading him to the Toronto Maple leafs on Sunday for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake, the Ducks reached out to show to Giguere to show their appreciation and respect for the goaltender who brought the Stanley Cup to California.
There has been mixed emotions from the people I’ve talked to about this trade but I think this is a move that will help the Leafs, and more pointedly Jonas Gustavsson, in the future.
”The Monster” has shown some potential to be a NHL #1 goaltender but he needs a mentor he can respect to show him the ropes, and at 32 Giguere still has some quality years left to help achieve this end.
Brian Burke has certainly rolled the dice on this one but if “Jiggy” can return to even 85% of his former abilities it will be a deal worth doing. The plan going into this season was for Toskala to return to form after off-season surgery, and be traded at the deadline. At that point, the plan was for Gustavsson to take over as the future of the franchise. The problem is that Toskala ha struggled mightily all season and Gustavsson clearly isn’t ready for the work load.
It is true that Giguere will eat up a lot of cap space ($6.5 mil cap hit) but in getting the Ducks to take Jason Blake’s contract ($4 mil cap hit), the loss is negligable really. If you view it as a $2.5 mil loss next year and Gustavsson developes into a true #1 starter under Giguere’s guidance, it a mearly a monetary loss, and it’s common knowledge that the Leafs have plenty of that.
It’s Time To Find Out About The “Monster”
Posted by Derek in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Opinion on January 26th, 2010
I’m not the first to say this but I would like to add my voice to the gathering masses that just want the Toronto Maple Leafs to let Jonas Gustavsson play for the remainder of the season.
It’s time to find out exactly what they have in “The Monster”, and decide if the flashes of greatness (or the flashes of mediocrity) are the real stick with which to measure the 25 year old NHL rookie. There have been moments when Gustavsson looked like he was on the brink of breaking out as a true #1 NHL goaltender, only to watch him allow a weak goal or over-read a play and end up committed to a shot while the opposing player passes for an easy tap in goal.
Personally, I prefer an aggressive goaltender like Gustavsson, who comes out to challenge a shooter. In my opinion this was the biggest problem for Vesa Toskala, sitting on the goal line and giving away the upper half of the net. It’s easier to make an aggressive player dial it back a bit then it is to make a passive one more aggressive, as we’ve seen with Toskala. Let’s face it, if we know what Toskala needed to do to be successful, so did Vesa but he was unable to change his game.
Gustavsson has had decent numbers on an under-achieving team but it really is time to see what he can do with a stretch of consecutive games to get comfortable. If it turns out he isn’t capable it would be far better to figure that out now, he will be a RFA after this season and will be looking for more then the $910 Thousand he signed for this year as an introductory contract.
His 2.94 GAA and .902 Save% is passable considering the supporting cast but it’s important to remember that a young goaltender can improve vastly playing on a bottom-feeder team like the Leafs, where he will see a lot of rubber every night. If you consider Roberto Luongo’s time in Florida he faced almost 2500 shot’s in 2003/04 and again in 2005/06 (consecutive season considering the lockout). This is when Luongo emerged as a premier NHL goaltender. I’m not saying that “The Monster” is the next Luongo, but it’s imperative for Brian Burke to know what he needs to do in net going into next season.
It’s time to throw Jonas in the pool and see if he’ll swim.
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Rumors - Jan. 26th
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 26th, 2010
Hand the No. 1 job to Gustavsson next season and sign a good backup from the list of free agents. Look for a veteran free agent who can act as a mentor to the 25-year-old Gustavsson and be capable of playing as many as 50 games if the youngster’s development still lags. Sign or trade for the best possible goaltender money and cap space can buy. Gustavsson can either back up and wait his turn or be traded for another asset.
One option that might present itself is that if the Florida Panthers are out of playoff contention, they might put Tomas Vokoun on the trade block. Vokoun has 1 year left at $5.7 million. There’s JS Giguere at $7 million ($6 million cap hit) for next year. Jonas Hiller is also a UFA at seasons end. Nashville has 2 UFA goalies in Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne, and they won’t be re-signing both. Other free agent goalies are Martin Biron (Isles), Chris Mason (Blues) and Marty Turco (Stars)
Around the Boards: Souray will waive ‘no-trade’ clause, Kovalchuk-Thrashers continue talks, Savard out 2-3 weeks
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 9th, 2010
- Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal: Sheldon Souray has let it be known that he’d be willing to waive his ‘no-trade’ clause if it ‘makes sense’ for his family. His family is out in California, so if he gets traded, expect it to be to a west coast/conference team. Souray has 3 years left on his contract at $5.4 million cap hit. He’s making $5.5 mill this year, and $4.5 mill the next 2 seasons.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Thrashers aren’t giving up on re-signing Ilya Kovalchuk.
On the ongoing contract talks with Ilya Kovalchuk, Waddell said: “Talks continue on. We met in Saskatoon (at the World Junior Championships). Our priority still remains to get him signed. We’ve made some progress but we are obviously not ready yet to put a signature on a contract.
“The positive thing is the talks have continued. They haven’t broken down. We talk almost daily. To me, that’s all part of the process. If talks break down because one side puts their shoes too far in the sand then you know you’re probably at an impasse. At this point, that hasn’t happened. Both sides continue to talk and try to find away to make this deal work.”
- Chris Zupke of the OC Register: Teemu Selanne expects to return to the Ducks lineup tonight. Changes could be coming for the Ducks if they continue to sit near the bottom of the Western Conference. JS Giguere, Scott Niedermayer, Saku Koivu, and Todd Marchant, could find themselves with another team before seasons end.
- Paul Hunt of the Toronto Star: Hunt lists some names who are unrestricted free agents this year that could be dealt at the trade deadline: Slava Kozlov, Colby Armstrong and Pavel Kubina (Atlanta), Saku Koivu (Anaheim), Paul Kariya (St. Louis), Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen (Carolina), Jeff Halpern, Antero Niittymaki and Alex Tanguay (Tampa), Martin Biron and Doug Weight (Islanders), Raffi Torres (Columbus), Steve Ott and Jere Lehtinen (Dallas), Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan, Lee Stempniak and Vesa Toskala (Toronto)
- Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: The Maple Leafs are now allowed to negotiate with RFA Jonas Gustavsson, but have yet to do so. The Leafs don’t feel any pressure or urgency to get something worked out right away.
- Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald: Boston’s Marc Savard could be out for 2 to 3 weeks with a sprained knee. The Bruins were stayed healthy last season, the same can’t be said for this year.
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