A lot of talk about who is in the hunt for the playoffs this year. And yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in those discussions. Currently the Leafs are 6 points out of 8 spot which belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes (for the time being). With a game at hand, is it too much for the playoff challenged Maple Leafs?
Toronto has seen their fair share of ups and downs this year. In the month of February the Leafs posted a 8-2-4 record, picking up 20 points out of a possible 28. That is not too shabby. But how long will this positive mojo last?
The Leafs have dumped their team in February, losing Tomas Kaberle, Kris Versteeg and veteran Francois Beauchemin. Sure the team has picked up a talented Joffrey Lupul (2g, 3a for 5pts in 9 games), but General Manager Brian Burke knows his team is still year out from being competitive.
Sorry Leaf fans (not really), but your team is not at a place to make the playoffs this year, let alone be competitive if they did. Burke has picked up some good draft picks and got rid of trouble maker Kaberle (Dad, can you fight my battles?). Look on the bright side, know where you stand, enjoy the golf this summer, and next year you just might make the playoffs. For the remainder of the season though, keep it down, stay out of the media, and just try and work on your game for next year.
It has only been 44 years since us Toronto fans got to celebrate a cup. All we have is hope. Lets us enjoy this little streak of better than 500 hockey. 😉
I’m just giving the Toronto fans a hard time. I think it would be great if they made the playoffs, but I just don’t think they have it yet. In my own personal belief, I think the market and the fans put an extreme amount of pressure on the players which makes it very difficult to play. So, in part, I think if the media left them alone a bit (currently not happening), they might just play some pretty good hockey.