Gunnarsson Promoted - Toskala Likely To Start
November 12th, 2009 by Steve
So Komisarek is out for 3 weeks with a minor tear to his quadricep muscle, and Carl Gunnarsson gets his shot with the big club. Exelby will play in Chicago on Friday, but Gunnarsson should get his shot in the near future on the Leafs blue line.
It will be interesting to watch what happens going forward, as the Leafs are high on the play of Gunnarsson heading into the future. How he plays will have an impact on the likelihood of the Leafs holding on to Tomas Kaberle down the line. If Gunnarsson plays solidly and looks like an NHL blue liner, don’t be shocked if the trade chatter picks up even more in regards to Kaberle.
So far with the Marlies, Gunnarson has 2 assists and a -2 rating through 12 games. While his statistics aren’t eye popping, he is receiving solid reviews from the Marlies coaching staff. Expect his smooth, poised style of defense to calm things down in the Leafs defensive zone when he’s on the ice.
Also in another interesting twist to the Leafs fortunes, Jonas Gustavsson will probably be sitting at the end of the bench in Chicago as Vesa Toskala will probably be between the pipes against the Blackhawks. Honestly, Chicago is one of the more dangerous offensive sides in the NHL these days, and they’re getting pretty good play at home with a 7-2-1 record at this early point of the season on friendly ice. Sheltering Gustavsson in this situation, and providing him a night off rather than playing him in consecutive back to backs is probably a good idea.
Also, the Leafs likely want to get some points at home on Saturday against the Flames, so giving themselves the best chance to do so is probably on Brian Burke and Ron Wilson’s minds. Playing Gustavsson obviously puts them in a better position at this stage of proceedings.
Posted in Game Analysis, Player Analysis, Prospects, Stat Analysis
2 Responses to “Gunnarsson Promoted - Toskala Likely To Start”
By BCapp
on Nov 13, 2009
Hey Steve:
Nice analysis. But heres a question. What does this (calling up Gunnarson vs him) mean for Frogren?
By Steve
on Nov 13, 2009
Probably not a whole lot. I’m assuming they felt like giving Gunnarsson a shot as he was the last one sent down from training camp at the beginning of the year.
If he doesn’t perform particularly well, Frogren is probably the next one on the depth chart. All it really means is Frogren is currently the 9th ranked guy in their system… which may or may not change as the season progresses.