He doesn't really care. I admire that about him. It's really hard [to do]". Gustavsson had an odd summer for a European NHL player, as he spent essentially the entire off-season in Toronto working out with strength coach Anthony Belza.
Even when local players were long gone and at the lake, Gustavsson could often be seen hanging out at the rink, mostly on his own. The reason he stayed in Canada wasn't to train with his teammates, however, but because his girlfriend, Emilie, has a fear of flying and didn't want to travel home to Sweden.
She spent the summer months taking courses and learning to fly small planes as a way to overcome the phobia. Gustavsson's extra time in the city has paid off, both with a greater comfort level in his NHL home and in getting to pounds on his always lean 6-foot-3 frame. After practice on Monday, Gustavsson took time to reflect on his past few years, answering questions about his play, his health and, most poignantly, his parents' death when he was still a young man.
His father predeceased his mother. Maybe that's something that helps me in hockey, too? I know there's other things in life. There's tougher losses than one game. If you can come back from that, you can come back from a lost game. Gustavsson seems to realize that his recent run of six weeks of strong play doesn't really make a career. And when Reimer missed time earlier this season with a head and neck injury, Gustavsson was so shaky that he eventually split the goaltending duties with Ben Scrivens.
I understand the expectation of him is very high and that people want him to play good and want him to succeed. Gustavsson, who is in the final season of a two-year contract, becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The team wants to make the playoffs. And whether it is Reimer or Gustavsson or someone else, Toronto needs consistent goaltending to get there. Recent history might suggest Gustavsson is not the man for the job.
But he has had success before, allowing just 14 goals in 13 playoff games while leading his team to a Swedish Elite League title in , and winning seven straight starts as a rookie in March He also been a monster when it comes to battling adversity. Both his parents are gone, his mother having died shortly before he signed a contract to play with the Leafs.
And in each of the last two years, he has undergone two potential life-threatening procedures on his heart. Your go-to source for all the best Black Friday deals: tech, toys, fashion, mattresses, beauty, wellness, travel and more.
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We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. It's apparent the Leafs netminder is one tough customer, having already dealt with moving to a new country, learning a new language, new rules in the NHL and dealing with health issues off the ice. But to do it all without his parents, without the ability to just call mom and dad to say hi, that's when you look at the man they call the Monster, and realize that nickname might mean more than we think.
It might suggest the amount pain and struggle he's been through to get where he's at today. It might suggest the amount of loss he's had to deal with and accept at the young age of It certainly suggests the size of fight he has in him: the determination to work hard every day and reach his goal of being a starting goaltender in the NHL.
An achievement you know he would have loved to share with his parents when he reaches that level one day. Doctors may have had to fix whatever issue ailed him health-wise, but there is nothing wrong with the heart he exudes in just showing up to the rink every day.
While battling through a lifetime of hurt, getting up one more time than he's fallen down, he's pushing through to do what would make his parents proud.
No one can question his drive. The fact that he comes to work every day and gives it his all without complaining. It's probably his way of fighting through the pain and dealing with the loss. Maybe hockey is Gustavsson's escape.
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