I know that I am not alone when I say it has been difficult to bleed blue and white the past few seasons. It appears that this year, it may be time for hockey playoffs to return to Toronto. At the midway point of the season, the Leafs sit seventh in the East, and third in the North-Eastern Division (behind the mighty Bruins and the surprising Ottawa Senators). This may appear to be a mediocre accomplishment, but it is a major improvement over the recent years of struggling to play .500 hockey. Let’s also not forget that the team has overcome injuries to key players such as Number 1 goaltender James Reimer and veteran presence Colby Armstrong. Armstrong and Liles are expected to return from concussions in the coming weeks, and their top line of Kessel, Lupul and Connolly is still producing. Kessel and Lupul remain among the league’s leaders in points. When centred by faceoff specialist Tim Connolly they form one of the most dangerous lines in the league. If Ron Wilson, the league’s winningest active coach, winning 640 of his 1378 games behind the bench, can keep the team playing a high paced game, and maybe improve their penalty kill, I feel a playoff berth in the making. Let’s also not discount the Brian Burke factor.
The NHL’s trade deadline this season falls on Monday, February 27th. Blockbuster trade rumours involving the Leafs have not yet taken shape but it would be unwise to believe that Brian Burke will not be actively engaging in talks. It should be noted that there remain only three players from the roster that Burke inherited on November 29th, 2008: Kulemin, Grabovski, Schenn. Burke has been quoted telling ESPN.com “I do try to get my lineup set well in advance of the deadline. I’ve never been a deadline guy. So January is when I try to make a splash.” Anything could happen in the upcoming weeks. The Leafs have a wealth of young talent between their NHL roster and the Marlies. The only criticism I have for the organization is in regards to their tickets.
The Leafs can proudly say that they are one of the six Canadian teams that accounted for 33 percent of the money generated from ticket sales in the 30 team league last season. Ticket revenues among Canadian teams have seemed to plateau after periods of steady increases since the lockout. This has led to ticket price increases (The average price of a ticket at the ACC is twice as much as one to see Boston Bruins play at home). Paying more than 100 dollars to sit in the upper bowl is just not acceptable to me so for all the fans out there who don’t want to risk their work term savings to see their favourite team play, I would recommend taking a trip to either Buffalo or Detroit when the Leafs are in town. Both cities are less than 3.5 hours away from Waterloo, and you will find much better seats for much cheaper prices.
The Leafs will be in action Thursday the 19th at 7pm on TSN hosting the Minnesota Wild, and don’t miss one of the best rivalries in sports as they clash with the Montreal Canadiens Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.
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