Maple Leafs goalie to miss rest of season

TORONTO, March 4 (UPI) -- Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala said Wednesday he will have surgery for hip and groin injuries and will miss the rest of the NHL season.

Toskala said he had been playing in pain while he and Maple Leafs officials considered whether he should have surgery. A team release didn't detail the injuries.

"This is best for me," said Toskala. "I'm going to get my surgery done next week. Obviously, I haven't been 100 percent."

Toskala is 22-17-11 with a 3.26 goals against average in 53 games this season. He is in his seventh NHL season, having broken in with San Jose before joining Toronto last season. He has a 120-70-5 NHL record over 234 games, including 216 starts.

The Maple Leafs filled Toskala's place on the roster by claiming Martin Gerber off waivers from Ottawa. He's in his third NHL season and owns a record of 104-73-7, but had appeared in only 14 games for Ottawa this year.