Going through the motions

It's the end of January and us Maple Leafs fans have no choice but to feel the doomed feeling associated with falling from playoff contention. A bit earlier than usual I know. As hockey fans, we all know that the league takes a few months to shake down and work out the kinks. Upsets are a little less common, and top-tier teams are less likely to drop a game to low seeded clubs at this point in the 82 game sched. The playoff hunt in both conferences is still very tight, but bottom-feeder teams are being weeded out of the hunt more and more every day.

It's hard to admit, but the Leafs are the lowest of low in the league right now with the most losses (combining regulation AND overtime). The Blue & White are currently only 5 points above the Canes, with three more games played at this point. The lowest point total right now is courtesy of Edmonton with only 38 points, but again, Toronto has three more games played. The Leafs have a record of 17-27-10, that's twenty more losses than wins. At the current pace the Leafs are set to achieve an embarrassing record and the slide looks to have zero intention of relenting.

When the Buds hosted the surging and promising LA Kings last night, it seemed like both teams were dancing to a familiar tune and the Leafs just accepted the loss as they were supposed to. The game wasn't overly terrible, it wasn't a blow-out, but the truculence and 'we're not going to take it' attitude that the Buds are supposed to display night in and night out were non-existent. It seems as though the point in the season has come (and quite early) where the team will simply go through the motions for the remainder of the season and most news regarding the Leafs will have zero to do with anything on ice. Most discussion regarding our precious team will likely involve the trade deadline, free agency, and dare I say it: next season.

The disappointment surrounding the early season debacle that has been the Toronto Maple Leafs is overwhelming for a life-time fan like myself. It's something that we've all become accustomed to in the past few years but that doesn't make it any easier.

GM Brian Burke has a busy few weeks ahead, and it will be very interesting to watch what happens. It's no news to anyone that Burke has stated his plan to take on salary from other teams in order to acquire draft picks and/or prospects. It's a very real possibility that a player like Peter Mueller could cross Burke's radar, so it doesn't have to strictly be draft picks that are coming to Toronto.

Darren Dreger has listed Poni and Stajan in his top ten players to be dealt before the deadline. Makes sense, but what sort of return are we all expecting? Personally I'd expect a decent prospect for each and a possible mid-round pick. Nik Hagman has been seen as a great asset, which indeed he is, but I wouldn't just deal this guy for the sake of doing it. At a great price, good term, and great production this year I expect Burkie would definitely would have to be blown away in order to deal the Finn.

I'm still interested in what Burke will do with restricted free agents White and Mitchell. As I've written before, I expect White's future is directly related to what happens with Kaberle. With Mitchell it's a little different. To me he seems very inconsistent so I can see how Burke would face the "to deal him or not to deal him" dilemma. My guess is if Mitchell stays, he could see Marlies time next year and maybe that's not something he wants to deal with. Either way, it should be an interesting few weeks coming up to say the least.

Despite the Leafs season, it's a great time to be a hockey fan with the Olympics only weeks away and all the trade talk around the league. It's going to be fun to see how it all shakes out.

-maplestirup
razzler67@gmail.com