Toronto rookie goalie Jonas Gustavsson's training camp has been interrupted by a heart problem, though coach Ron Wilson downplayed the seriousness of the condition on Tuesday.
Gustavsson, 24, who's trying to secure a job with the Leafs after being signed away from the Swedish Elite League over the summer, experienced a racing heartbeat after fitness testing Saturday. He participated in on-ice sessions Monday but was absent from training camp Tuesday.
That's when Wilson revealed that Gustavsson underwent what the coach called a "cardiac ablation" — a relatively non-invasive procedure in which doctors insert small wires into a blood vessel in the groin area and send them up into the heart. Energy is then transmitted through the wires to destroy the tissue that disturbs heart rhythms.
"They go in and touch a part of his heart that was misfiring," Wilson said. "It's a simple procedure that's actually fairly common with athletes.
"Our doctor said he'll do 10 NHL players in a summer if they're ever shown this [problem]. It's not a difficult procedure. We don't expect him to miss more than 48 hours. You don't want him to put his gear on until he's comfortable and there's no risk of infection [at the site of the incision]."
Gustavsson, who posted a 1.96 goals-against average last season for Farjestads in Sweden, is expected to challenge incumbent Vesa Toskala for playing time.
Gustavsson was "the most powerful guy we had" in some of the fitness tests before the problem arose Saturday, Wilson said.
Joey MacDonald, who got into 59 games with the New York Islanders last season, will probably start the NHL season as Vesa Toskala's backup.
"Joey MacDonald has looked really good in the scrimmages so he'll take up a couple of the periods [in exhibitions] Jonas would have played," Wilson said.
MacDonald spent six years in the Detroit organization before his stint with the Islanders.
"It's never been easy," said the 29-year-old goalie from Pictou, N.S. "When I started in Detroit there was Hasek, Osgood, all these big-name goalies, and when I came into this camp it wasn't any different than any other year.
"I had to battle it out last year to get the No. 2 spot and then the No. 2 turned into the No. 1. It's a strange game and things can happen in a hurry."
With files from The Canadian Press
