Chris Botta, the former New York Islanders blogger who now writes for the NY Times' Slapshot blog, tweeted this earlier:
@ChrisBottaNHL: Ron Wilson could be reunited with Nabokov. But will #Isles trade a quality G within East again for a draft pick or iffy prospect?
Rumor is that the asking price for Evgeni Nabokov is a 2nd round draft pick, though if that were the case I'm guessing Nabokov would be a Blue Jacket or a Maple Leaf already.
Nabokov is quietly having a decent season as part of a three headed goalie monster on the Island. Al Montoya continues to keep his SV% above .920 and Rick DiPietro is literally unmoveable so it makes sense that Nabokov would be on the market, especially given that his contract was tolled and he doesn't seem to like New York.
Nabokov would give the Leafs some stability in net and when James Reimer returns Toronto could have a goalie battle that wasn't a race to the bottom for once. Jonas Gustavsson would obviously be the odd man out, and pointing out how bad he is so obvious that "pointing out Gustavsson's struggles" should likely replace "beating a dead horse" in our collective lexicons.
Gustavsson played a decent week for us and has backed it up with an horrific one, but last night it hit me: the worst part about Gustavsson is that he isn't cost controlled. If he stinks the Leafs lose games. If Gustavsson suddenly sets the world on fire he's a UFA and will command top dollar or leave.
It's up to Brian Burke to shore up this team's goaltending options. I wouldn't send Ben Scrivens to live on a farm yet but he's clearly not ready for prime time. Mark Owuya and Jussi Rynnas don't look ready to save the day although I think Rynnas may be deserving of a call up only given the options ahead of him.
Meanwhile the Leafs are still 9-5-1 and they've lost two games in a row for the first time all season. Kessel leads the NHL in goals 15 games in and Toronto's still a young team trying to add pieces. Chin up Leafs fans.