Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson confirmed on Wednesday that he intends to play in the National Hockey League this fall. And he'll have several potential suitors to consider when it comes time to make a decision, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gustavsson, 24, was the top goalie in the Swedish Elite League this season while playing for Farjestad. He posted a 1.96 goals against average and a save percentage of .932 in the regular season, and led the team to the league championship this spring.
"I'm going to go over (to the NHL) after the season, but I don't know where or when," Gustavsson told TSN. "There are a couple of teams interested, I don't know exactly how many...there's a bunch of teams."
Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is believed to be interested in Gustavsson's services, but he won't be able to speak to the netminder until next week.
"Toronto is one of the teams that I'm interested in. They've got a good team history, and they're one of the most famous teams in the world. It's a good club, but there are a bunch of other teams that are really good too, so it's a tough situation," said Gustavsson.
Gustavsson said he has not spoken to former long-time Toronto captain Mats Sundin, but another Swedish Maple Leaf alumnus has been in touch.
"I talked to Borje Salming a couple of days ago and he told me a little bit about the city and how it is," said Gustavsson.
Nicknamed "The Monster" in Sweden, the 6'3", 181 lb backstop will be visiting several NHL clubs after the World Championship wraps up this week.
"I Googled some cities, and I'm going to go on a short trip in a few weeks to really see how the teams are, and the organizations and everything around them. I think I'm going to visit three or four teams," said Gustavsson.
When asked if he had any preference as to where he might end up playing, Gustavsson answered, "Yeah, some. But we'll see where."