Jonas Gustavsson

Jonas Gustavsson (born October 24, 1984), popularly nicknamed The Monster due to his stature, is a Swedish ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Sweden
Gustavsson started his professional career with AIK in 2002 and played with them until 2007. He then moved to Färjestad in the Elitserien. He was the top goalie in 2008–09, when he posted a 1.96 goals against average and a save percentage of .932 in the regular season. In the playoffs, he aced the statistics, posting a 1.03 goals against average, a save percentage of .961, and five shutouts in 13 games. Having allowed only 14 goals in 13 playoff games, he led Färjestad to the league title.

Toronto Maple Leafs
On July 7, 2009, Gustavsson ended weeks of speculation by signing a one-year contract for $810,000 (plus a $90,000 signing bonus) with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I'm going to try to steal as many games from Vesa Toskala as I can," Gustavsson said in a phone interview from Sweden. "I'm a goalie and I want to play... I know the best goalie gets the ice time and if I play good I'm going to get the chance. We will be good teammates and try to push ourselves, but my goal is to be the number one goalie." When asked about the intensity of playing in Toronto, he replied: "For the most part, I like [the attention]. It doesn't matter what people say about me, I know if I play good or if I play bad... I like when lots of people are getting involved. In Toronto, everybody talks about hockey. I like to be in the heat."

Gustavsson endured a setback on the first day of camp, traced to a heart condition that required an ablation surgery process. After overcoming a groin strain, he was diagnosed with a racing heart en route to a road shutout against the Montreal Canadiens on December 1, which led to a second ablation. Gustavsson was also dealing with a new country, new language, new team and the different NHL rink size and rules. Through it all, he gradually improved his game and was named to the 2010 Swedish Olympic team. He won seven straight starts in March to tie the Leafs’ club record for the longest winning streak by a rookie goaltender. Gustavsson finished the season with a 16-15-9 record with a 2.87 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

Gustavsson made his NHL debut with Toronto on October 3, 2009 against the Washington Capitals.

On October 26, 2009, Gustavsson recorded his first NHL win against the Anaheim Ducks, making 25 saves on 28 shots in a 6–3 win.

On December 1, 2009, Gustavsson left after the first period in a game versus the Montreal Canadiens with a heart murmur.

Gustavsson recorded his first NHL shutout with a 2–0 win over the Boston Bruins on December 19, 2009.

Gustavsson recorded his first point in the NHL with an assist on March 13, 2010.

Gustavsson received Radio Frequency ablation to treat a reentrant tachycardia in 2009.

On April 6, 2010, the Toronto chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association announced Gustavsson as the Maple Leafs nominee for the 2010 Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded for "perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey".

After becoming a restricted free agent in the summer, Gustavsson agreed a two-year extension with the Leafs on April 15, 2010, with an average salary of $1.35m per year.

International career
Gustavsson played his first Olympic game against Belarus on February 19 at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics resulting in a 4-2 victory. He also represented Team Sweden at the 2009 IIHF World Championship. He played the most out of the three Swedish goaltenders, helping his country defeat the U.S. 4-2 for the bronze medal.

Gustavsson took part in the Junior International Championship. During the final against Russia, the game being tied at zero the entire game, Yevgeni Kuznetsov came up with an extremely difficult shot on goal with a pass from Yakupov. Gustavsson, however, managed to move along in line and gloved the puck, inches away from the goalline, with 31 seconds left of the third period, thus saving Sweden from certain elimination and a sour tasting second place behind Russia.

During overtime, Mika Zibanejad scored the decisive goal which ultmately earned Sweden the Junior Championship gold medal, breaking a curse that had lied over the team for over three decades.

Awards and achievements

 * Won a bronze medal at the 2009 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
 * Top 3 player at 2009 World Championships
 * Won the Swedish Championship in 2009
 * Best save percentage in the 2008–09 Elitserien season
 * Best goals against average in the 2008–09 Elitserien season
 * Named to Elitserien All-Star Team in 2009
 * Won the Elitserien Guldpucken Award (Best Player in Swedish Hockey) in 2009