Toronto Maple Leafs Are So Far Rebuffing Management's Plan For Pain

If you are a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, you are probably somewhat confused about this team. You probably want the team to one day win a Stanley Cup, but you realize they need to look at the draft successes of the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins to do so. The Leafs need to emulate these strategies.

Maple Leafs fans were promised pain, but at least in the short term, it does not appear to be imminent. They have won two in a row, after surprising victories over the Dallas Stars and the Nashville Predators, as well as winning three of their last six contests in November.

They are still at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and three points behind their nearest opponents, the Bruins and Florida Panthers, and four points behind last year’s cellar dweller in the Buffalo Sabres.

Worlds are definitely colliding for fans of this hockey club. For years, fans would have blind loyalty that the team would go ahead and be a contender in the playoffs. It was always believed that once they make the playoffs, anything can happen and they have for almost 50 years now been left with disappointment.

Don’t be fooled about this hockey club. They have won only four of their first 16 games. Wins have definitely not been at a premium. Just as wins have been not been a regular occurrence this year, goal scoring has also been very low. They have scored 34 goals as a franchise, tied with the Detroit Red Wings and only ahead of the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers.

Adding Mike Babcock to the coaching staff was a great hire. If you are able to watch Maple Leafs games with any regularity, you can see small ways that they have improved over all of last season under head coaches Randy Carlyle and Peter Horachek. They seem to care about playing together as a unit. Also, they don’t seem to be scared to play with the puck anymore, but the biggest plus this year has to be the play of goaltender James Reimer.

Recent history typically shows this hockey club failing around Christmas, where they go on an extended losing streak and make preparations for next fall. Fans should enjoy the pluses about this them now because, assuming recent history is correct, management can then use the two months after Christmas to trade any veteran assets for prospects.