Season after season Toronto Maple Leaf fans patiently await for the day that their beloved Buds will finally make the leap from obscurity to contender. A little over a quarter of the way through the season it appears as if the Leaf Nation will once again have to deal with disappointment. Despite what some fans are calling a more spirited effort, the Maple Leafs currently sit 27th overall in the standings, a mere five points from the bottom and just two points up on the New Jersey Devils (18) and Edmonton Oilers. The acquisitions of Phil Kessel, Colby Armstrong, Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom, J.S. Giguere, Kris Versteeg and others have, thus far, failed to bring a better result than last years crew that finished the season 29th overall. The special teams are a mess, the coaching has been questionable and,

With the team 22 games into the 2010-11 season, many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are starting to lose faith in their team, and with good reason. The Buds currently sit with a 8-11-3 record, good enough for 19 points, which puts them 27th overall in the NHL standings. Offensively the team has been a disaster, averaging a paltry 2.18 goals per game, good enough for 27th overall. At the other end the defense has been better, giving up a total of 2.68 goals per game, down from the 3.21 goals against per game they gave up last season, but that has not been enough to translate into more wins. Big name free agents and key acquisitions via the trade route were supposed to have this team in hot pursuit of a playoff spot, but to date the team

With a quarter of the season behind them the Toronto Maple Leafs looked to be turning the corner into respectability. Heading into the weekend the Maple Leafs were looking at two “winnable games” against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night and the Ottawa Senators Saturday night—two teams that have had a number of struggles of their own. As the Blue and White often do they let down the fans by losing both games, combining for an embarrassing one goal in the process, losing 3-1 to Buffalo and 3-0 to the Sens. Through 22 games the Buds are averaging just 2.18 goals scored per game—that’s down from the 2.56 goals per game last seasons squad averaged. The lack of offense is not for a lack of trying. The Maple Leafs threw 36 shots at Ryan Miller on Friday night, followed by

We are just twenty games into the 2010-11 season and already we have seen a number of players stepping up for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a few that need to pick it up. Over the summer Maple Leafs general manager Brain Burke made a number of acquisitions that, when combined with last seasons late moves, were supposed to turn last seasons 29th ranked team into a playoff contender. Injuries and a sub-par offensive attack have combined to thwart the Maple Leafs playoff aspirations thus far, but there have been a number of positives that point to the Blue and White having an improved season. Up front free agent signee Clarke MacArthur leads the team in points with 18, ranks second in goals (seven), assists (11), power play goals (two) and third in plus/minus at plus three. MacArthur signed a one-year

There seems to be a lot of talk about Brad Richards becoming a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While I would agree that Richards would be a fine addition to the Blue and White I think Maple Leaf fans are kidding themselves if they really expect Richards to be traded to Toronto. Now, let’s be clear here, trading for Richards (who will be 31 years old in May) and signing Richards as an unrestricted free agent are two very different things. Trading for Richards is unrealistic, signing him to a free agent contract is a whole other story. Think about it. Let’s say that Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk wanted to trade Richards—how many NHL teams do you think would be interested? In a rental player situation, probably all 16 playoff teams would have interest in Richards with

Over the summer numerous questions surrounded the Toronto Maple Leafs. Who would emerge as the teams number one centre? Which player would emerge as the teams leader? How many goals will Phil Kessel get? The list goes on and on. One of the more interesting questions had to do with goaltenders J.S. Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson, specifically, which goalie would emerge as the teams number one goalie? Prior to the start of the 2010-11 season Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson stated publicly that, without prejudice, Giguere was his number one guy. True to his word, Wilson has afforded Giguere the lions share of the workload, but with the veteran currently on the shelf with a groin injury and Gustavsson playing extremely well in all of his last four appearances, there is bound to be a debate over which goaltender