Thriving Bruins Backup Gustavsson Survived Toronto Scrutiny
BOSTON (CBS) -- With a .914 save percentage and 2.20 goals-against average in his first five games with the Bruins, Jonas Gustavsson is clearly comfortable in his new role as Tuukka Rask's backup.
Seven seasons into his NHL career after coming to North America from his native Sweden, Gustavsson has carved out his niche in the sport's highest league. Not too long ago, though, Gustavsson made his mark as one of about 10 goaltenders who tried and failed to turn around the fortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
From 2009 to 2012, Gustavsson had a .900 save percentage and 2.98 GAA while playing 107 games in blue and white. The Maple Leafs never played in the playoffs in that stretch, and they've only made the postseason once since the league returned after the 2004-05 cancelled season. (Bruins fans might recall how that one Toronto postseason appearance ended.)
Despite the team disappointments, Gustavsson said he has fond memories of his days with the Leafs.
"Yeah, I have good memories from there," Gustavsson told CBS Boston this week. "Obviously we didn't play as good and we didn't reach the playoffs and all that, but overall I had a lot of fun playing there and if anyone would ask me about it, that's what I would say. But I mean obviously now I'm happy to be here and this is a good spot. But I guess they're kind of in a rebuild now too, so that's not going to help the goalies too. Some nights the team's going to play really good and then the goalie's going to look good. And some other nights maybe they're a little off. But that's just normal."
The Leafs are rebuilding and having more goaltending issues. The oft-disrespected James Reimer has taken over as the No. 1 while their $4.15 million goaltender Jonathan Bernier seems lost on his feet. Bernier, who may start against the Bruins on Saturday at TD Garden, has a .895 save percentage and 3.17 GAA. In his last start, Bernier allowed a goal from center ice and surrendered the game-winning goal on a catchable rebound against the New York Rangers on Sunday.
It seems Toronto is a city that chews up goaltenders and spits them out all while the Maple Leafs continue to be without a Stanley Cup championship since 1967. Although he didn't want to make excuses for his own poor play with the Toronto or the struggles of other goaltenders there before and after him, Gustavsson does think goaltenders take a little too much of the blame for the Maple Leafs' failures.
"I don't think it only comes down to the goalie. I mean it takes a whole team to win a game," he said. "For the players to look good you need to have a good goalie, and for the goalie to look good you need to have good players and a good system and everything else that works around there too. So I think it goes hand in hand there too. I don't think it's only because of the goaltending they haven't had a lot of success in the playoffs and reaching the playoffs and stuff like that. So I think it comes down to a lot of things. Obviously goaltending is part of it, but I don't think that's the main and only thing because I mean there's been a lot of good goalies there. And some goalies that have gone to other places and played good there too. So I think it's a lot of things."
The pressure from fans and media can get intense, but Gustavsson said he mostly didn't let that bother him. As far as he was concerned, the notion that something that came up in the media might've affected the way he made or didn't make a save, was mythical, even if it currently seems like Bernier might be succumbing to some outside forces with his baffling play.
Gustavsson saw things on TV here and there, but mostly he stuck to reading his Swedish newspapers, which were doing everything but dissecting the play of the Leafs and their goaltenders.
Better perspective from outsiders might create a better environment for the Leafs to succeed. But more than anything, Gustavsson said, it'll be up to management to build a team that can thrive in all areas of the game. And he's sure Toronto will have that sometime soon.
"If you're playing in a smaller market, maybe if you have a bad game or something like that, maybe not everyone is going to know about it because first of all not everyone's watching the sport and not everyone is watching every game. In Toronto everyone is watching every game and talking about every game," Gustavsson. "So I mean maybe that way it could be a little tougher. But in the big picture, I think as soon as they get all the pieces together, I think the goaltending's going to be as solid as all the other stuff too."
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
