Pierre LeBrun was on Vancouver’s TSN 1040 on Monday afternoon.
On Jonathan Bernier:
“I tell our viewers to check out my story on Jonathan Bernier. I caught up with the Leafs goalie who broke his silence on the Frederik Andersen trade, and had some interesting comments to make about his future. Sounds like a pretty motivated guy right now.”
On his potential future with the Leafs, and how many starts he may get this year given what the Leafs paid for Andersen:
“Exactly. Listen, I think he wants to fight Andersen for starts. Whether or not he gets that true chance from teams remains to be seen.
“Interestingly enough, I asked Bernier, ‘Have you heard from the Leafs since the trade?’
“He said, ‘No.’
“But, you know, they’ve had their plate full, like drafting some guy named Auston Matthews.
“The other thing is, I think the Leafs have taken a few calls on him. I believe the Florida Panthers are among the teams that kicked the tires now. Whether as some insurance for Roberto Luongo, who’s getting on in age, that might not be a bad idea.
“But I don’t feel like that’s imminent in any way, just that there’s been a conversation.”
Source: TSN 1040/ Transcript: Nichols
Bernier told LeBrun that he wasn’t too astonished to see the Andersen trade.
“You know what, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t surprised on the trade to get another goalie,” Bernier said. “I was expecting it obviously with the season I had last year. I’m sure I put some doubts in a lot of people’s minds. That’s the business, right? You got to win and you got to prove that you’re consistent and you’re a good goalie to stay in this league. So I wasn’t surprised. Maybe a little surprised on the long-term contract [Andersen signed a five-year deal], but that’s the way it works.”
