Leaf Dilemma

As of today, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be entering the 2012-13 season with James Reimer and Ben Scrivens (pictured) as their goaltending tandem.  Not exactly an exciting prospect, is it?  You've heard all of the rumors of the Maple Leafs being in the running for Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Bernier, but I think it is time for the Maple Leafs to end the Bernier talk once and for all.  This is not exactly a ringing endorsement for Luongo by any means, as money and other parts to be moved figure into the equation.

Why end the window shopping of Bernier?  Since the lockout, the Maple Leafs have used Ed Belfour, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Andrew Raycroft, Vesa Toskala, Mikael Tellqvist, Justin Pogge, Martin Gerber, Jonas Gustavsson, Curtis Joseph, Scott Clemmensen, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Reimer, Scrivens, and Jussi Rynnas.  Of those names, Belfour is a Hall of Famer, but only played the first season post-lockout (he was a Maple Leaf prior to the lockout) and Joseph was on his second go-around in 2008-09, and was clearly on his last legs.  Raycroft was traded for Tuukaa Rask, a first round pick of the Leafs in 2005, which is the most damning aspect of the Leafs' revolving door in goal, as Rask is starting this coming season in Tim Thomas' year-long absence (incidentally, Rask was a starter for most of 2009-10, but lost it the following season when Thomas did his Dominik Hasek impersonation for two years).  Raycroft proved to be nothing more than a career backup and the guy that would replace him (Vesa Toskala) had even less of a resume, backing up Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose.  Let's not forget the band-aid solutions in Gerber, Clemmensen, and Giguere, and only Giguere had any signs of success in his time as a Maple Leaf.  As for drafting, they don't do a good job of developing young talent, and truthfully, the last time the Leafs did something with a prospect was Felix Potvin, who led the Leafs to two Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994.

What does all of this have to do with Bernier, you ask?  Looking at both Raycroft and Toskala, both had a modicum of success prior to joining the Leafs, with Raycroft winning the Calder Trophy in 2004.  However, neither could replicate that success in subsequent years.  Bernier has even less of a resume than either goaltender, and given the rough nature of Leafs fans, it is unknown whether Bernier will be able to handle the transition from the laid back Los Angeles to a pressure cooker in Montreal.  Yes, Bernier has potential, but so did Reimer after his first NHL season, and so did Pogge and Tellqvist, neither of whom became starters in the NHL.  Toronto will have a steep hill to climb no matter what they do in goal, but it could be much worse if they do decide to go with Bernier.  Luongo has far more of a resume and maybe someone from the Reimer/Scrivens duo will actually seize the starting role.  Then again, the Leafs could be in the same situation this time next year.