The one thing I noticed about Toronto sports writers is that other than the odd word against the coach and the team in general, most of them only say negative things about the fans. As if we have anything to do with the team's futility. These "journalists" seem to have a hate on for fans. I would like to remind them that for the most part the people booing former players at the ACC are not fans, they are corporate slugs that need the Leafs to win to look good in front of clients. Let's remember that the average Leaf fan can't afford to go to the games. Why don't they talk about the huge ticket prices for a team that hasn't made the playoffs in six years? Why don't they talk about the huge profit the team makes? Instead they blame the fans for giving the team all that money. Again, it's not the fans giving them money, it's the corporate slugs. The only guy I know with season tickets has admitted to hating the Leafs since he was a kid, but it's a good way to show potential investors a good time.
Anyway, enough of all that. I live in Montreal anyway so I don't even have the option of going to the ACC, and really the prices in Montreal, while cheaper, are also quite expensive. I did manage to see Halak's 55 save performance against the Washington Capitals in last year's first round, and how did I get those tickets? Through Kate's work of course.
The Maple Leafs again finished the season strongly after a terrible start, but it wasn't enough to squeeze into the playoffs. In other years, these strong finishes have done much to encourage the fan base for the following year, and this year is no different.
High Hopes
Next year may end up being another wasted year, but there are more positives than usual, and one glaring question that must be answered before the Leafs can do anything close to winning a playoff game.
The Leafs' strong finish was longer than usual, giving the impression that it might carry over till next season.
The team had four 20 goal scorers, two 30 goal scores (Kessel and Kulemin) and Graboski just missed 30, finishing with 29. Macarthur had 21.That's not bad if these four can reproduce those numbers, and the Leafs can add another scorer with their 20+ million in cap space.
The biggest question, actually there are two, is goaltending. Will Reimer be able to reproduce his season? If so I think the Leafs will be a good bet to make the playoffs, if not they'll be hoping to win the lottery (at least they have the first round pick in 2012.
Goaltending is going to make or break next year unless the Leafs can drastically improve on special teams, especially the penalty kill. If you trust your penalty killers, players can play more aggressively without worrying that a penalty will result in a goal against. Since Burke wants to build a rough-and-tumble team, the penalty kill must be among the best in the league if the team has any hope of success.
I'm looking forward to the off-season moves Burke make. I wouldn't expect Richards to be a Leaf, but Burke may be able to pull off a blockbuster nonetheless.
As far as the teams that are in the playoffs, here are my predictions. Yes, I know five games have already been played, but one game does not a series make.
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington over (8) New York in four
(2) Philadelphia over (7) Buffalo in seven
(3) Boston over (4) Montreal in six
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Tampa Bay in six
Western Conference
(8) Chicago over (1) Vancouver in seven
(2) San Jose over (7) Los Angeles in six
(3) Detroit over (6) Phoenix in five
(4) Anaheim over (5) Nashville in six
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