Gustavsson joins unfortunate list of Leafs with heart ailments
This past week Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson underwent a heart ablation procedure for the second time this season. The 25-year-old netminder left the first period of Toronto’s game in Montreal on December 1 after experiencing an elevated heart rate, and went to hospital for precautionary reasons. After returning to Toronto to be examined by cardiac specialists, Gustavsson had the surgery.
Gustavsson’s first procedure was performed in September during Leafs’ training camp.
“When Jonas had the first ablation, the doctors warned us that 20 per cent of the time or more, it doesn’t work,” said Toronto general manager Brian Burke. “The success rate on the second operation, they tell us, is much higher. We don’t view it as serious.” Burke predicted Gustavsson’s recovery time to last 7-10 days.
A highly-coveted free agent this past summer, Gustavsson appeared to be solidifying the Leafs precipitous goaltending situation, prior to this latest setback. Nicknamed “The Monster”, Gustavsson has lost in regulation only three times in his last 11 appearances, and has been the winning goalie in six of Toronto’s eight victories on the season, as of Sunday.
By unfortunate coincidence, heart maladies aren’t foreign to Leafs medical staff.
In 1999, Toronto selected Luca Cereda with their first-round pick, 24th overall, in the NHL Entry Draft. A center who learned his craft in his native country of Switzerland, Cereda missed the entire 2000-01 season after being diagnosed with a heart murmur. He played two and a half seasons in the Leafs farm system before returning to the Swiss League, never to suit up for the Leafs.
Two years after drafting Cereda, the Leafs took Czech defenseman Karel Pilar in the second round. Pilar would go on to play 90 NHL games with Toronto over parts of three seasons, but his second season – 2002-03 – was cut short due to a condition called viral myopathy which stiffens the heart. Following a two-year absence from pro hockey, Pilar made a brief comeback with the Marlies of the AHL. Despite eventually signing on with the Atlanta Thrashers, Pilar never returned to the NHL and now plays in the Czech Republic.
With Gustavsson’s immediate and long-term health of the utmost priority, Leafs fans are hoping that The Monster’s ailment won’t result in what would be a ‘hat trick’ of premature departures from the National Hockey League.
Rob Del Mundo is the author of Blue And White Beat, and is a regular columnist at TMLfans.ca
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