Vesa Toskala

Vesa Toskala
Toskala during his time with the Flames on January 10, 2007
Born (1977-05-20) 20 May 1977
Tampere, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Ilves
Färjestad BK
San Jose Sharks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Calgary Flames
AIK IF
National team  Finland
NHL draft 90th overall, 1995
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 1995–2012

Vesa Tapani Toskala (born May 20, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played parts of 8 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Calgary Flames. Outside of the NHL, Toskala played for Ilves of the SM-liiga, as well as, Färjestad BK and AIK IF of the Elitserien.

Career

Before playing in the NHL, Toskala played parts of four seasons with Ilves of the SM-liiga and one season with Färjestad BK of the Elitserien.

He was drafted 90th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1995 NHL entry draft. On 11 June 2001, Toskala signed a contract to join the Sharks.[1] He was sent down to play for their AHL-affiliate Kentucky Thoroughblades. On 24 November 2001, the Sharks called him up and Toskala made his NHL debut in relief of Evgeni Nabokov, stopping all 2 shots he faced in a 3–1 loss against the Los Angeles Kings.[2] On 27 March 2003, Toskala stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 3–0 win against the Detroit Red Wings to record his first NHL shutout.[3] On 3 August 2004, Toskala signed a two-year contract to stay with the Sharks.[4] During the 2005–06 season, the NHL named Toskala as the Defensive Player of the Week for the weeks of March 27 and April 10.[5][6] On 3 August 2004, Toskala signed a two-year contract extension to stay with the Sharks.[7]

On 22 June 2007, the Sharks traded Toskala along with Mark Bell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2007 first- and second-round draft pick and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick.[8] On 18 March 2008, an embarrassing moment happened for Toskala during a game against the New York Islanders. Islanders player Rob Davison tried to dump the puck off the boards while on the penalty kill. The puck bounced five times off the ice from 174 feet away and then beat Toskala's glove for the only team goal in a 3–1 win for the Leafs.[9]

On 31 January 2010, the Maple Leafs traded Toskala along with Jason Blake to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jean-Sébastien Giguère.[10] He never played a game for the Ducks. On 3 March, the Ducks traded Toskala to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Curtis McElhinney.[11] He played 6 regular season games with the Flames, backing up goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff.

On 1 November 2010, Toskala decided to leave North America and return to Europe after signing a one-month contract with the AIK IF of the Elitserien.[12] He played two games with AIK, posting a .898 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average. On 1 November, Toskala decided to leave North America and return to Europe after signing a one-month contract with the AIK IF of the Elitserien. He played two games with AIK, posting a .898 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average. On 1 November, Toskala returned to his original team Ilves after signing a one-month contract with the AIK IF of the Elitserien. He played two games with AIK, posting a .885 save percentage and 3.43 goals against average.

On 2 October 2012, Toskala announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Around the NHL". Chron. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  2. ↑ "2000-01 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Sharks' Toskala Gets First Shutout 3-0". Midland Reporter-Telegram. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Sharks re-sign free agent Toskala". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ↑ "Toskala Is The NHL's Defensive Player Of The Week". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "Toskala Named NHL Defensive Player Of The Week". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Sharks Re-Sign Goaltender Vesa Toskala". San Jose Sharks. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Leafs acquire Toskala, Bell from Sharks". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Late rally lifts Maple Leafs over Islanders". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Ducks Acquire Toskala, Blake for Giguere". Anaheim Ducks. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ↑ "Ducks send Toskala to Flames for McElhinney". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Ducks send Toskala to Flames for McElhinney". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ↑ "Former Leafs, Sharks goalie Toskala retires". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 30, 2026.

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