J.S. Giguere understands what Jonathan Bernier is going through — and he believes he knows why the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender allowed a pair of ugly goals on Sunday, each for a different reason.
A former Maple Leafs netminder himself, Giguere joined Sportsnet 590 The Fan Tuesday to discuss the struggles of one of his successors.
Toronto has made it clear that the starter role was Bernier’s to lose, but he has not recorded a regulation victory since March 3. Returning from a lower-body injury Sunday, Bernier surrendered two soft goals to the New York Rangers, one from centre and another off a juicy rebound, dropping his 2015-16 record to 0-7-1 and his save percentage to .895.
Afterward, Bernier said he let the team down, cost them two points.
Giguere, a 2007 Stanley Cup winner and humongous net presence but also a man who has endured his share of losing skids, said the sloppy rebound was more mental than physical.
“It’s a confidence thing. Technically, I don’t think it’s the wrong play. It was kind of a soft shot at the net, it bounced right in front of him, went over his stick, hit his pad.” Giguere explained. Then Mats Zuccarello buried the rebound for the a game-winner with less than a minute left.
“Goaltending is funny. When your confidence is down, it seems like everything can go wrong. Jonathan is a proud guy and he’s a personal friend of mine. People have to know he works extremely hard at what he does.”
LISTEN: J.S. Giguere on Bernier’s struggles and the size of goalie equipment
Giguere pointed to a horrific stretch of losing he endured as a youngster in the American Hockey League. Those struggles made him a better player.
“He’s going to bounce back. It’s going to be a tough road ahead,” Giguere said. “His mentality right now is his biggest issue. He’s got to find a way to move past it.”
Interestingly, Giguere said he’s a big believer in a goaltender’s equipment matching his style, that your pads should be shaped in a way that caters to how you move and drop and block pucks without gaps.
“Jonathan is a prime example. The centre-ice goal in New York [by Derek Stepan] doesn’t have anything to do with his technique or his talent. Can he make that save? Absolutely,” Giguere said.
“To me, it’s an equipment problem. That goal should never go in, if you have the right equipment. If your equipment fits properly, you should stop it. You should never have to worry about a shot like that because your knee pads should come together and stop that.”
One-Timers with J.S. Giguere
On shrinking goalie equipment: “There probably is a little room to shrink the equipment. The only thing you can’t shrink is the goalie himself. If you look around the league, most goalies are six-two, six-three, six-four, six-five, and up and up. Teams only want to draft goalies that are big and tall. [Shrinking equipment] is only a temporary solution; it’s not going to last. They’ve already done that twice.”
On installing bigger nets: “I’m a big believer that maybe the net could be bigger. I’m not talking three or four inches. Maybe an inch bigger. Or change the angle of the posts.”
On Maple Leafs fans: “You have to be honest with yourself and admit that their lineup isn’t that deep. It’s going to be a struggle every game. As a fan, all you can hope for is that the guys show up and work hard, and the Leafs have shown that this year.”
