Turning Over A New Leafs Season

We are hours away from the start of the 2010-2011 NHL hockey season and I'm all giddy inside.

But before the city burns after the Leafs' first win, and before we call for Ron Wilson's head after a string of losses, let's reflect on the changes the team has gone through and why this time around, it is not stupid to be optimistic.  There are many new faces, but the two biggest changes are attitude and depth. 

The Maple Leafs are trying to prove they are no longer the laughing stock of the NHL.  Brian Burke vows his pack has a winning attitude -- or as I like to call it, swag.  To me, it's not so much the winning attitude as it is their unwillingness to surrender that makes me breathe easier.  The Leafs seem to have a never-say-die attitude coming into the season, a stark contrast from the debauchery of a team that essentially let Andrew Raycroft prance around on his old stomping ground and celebrate in triumph despite being up by three goals.  The Leafs made him look like he was worth trading Tuukka Rask... but that is another tragedy altogether.

The other area of improvement is organizational depth.  I love (hate) it when reader comments say that Burke should be fired because he wasn't able to bring high end offensive talent this year.  It stuns me at how shortsighted some people are.  First off, you can't make lemonade without the lemons.  And you can't buy lemons unless you have assets to offer back.  Burke couldn't trade for a top-notch center because we had zero tradeable assets.  As the old saying goes, "You gotta give a lil' to get a lil'."  The same thing applied for attracting free agents.  Players decide to sign with winning clubs.  They want to know that the organization they play for is committed to winning and that they will be surrounded by people who can help them do that.  A year ago, the Leafs best prospects were free agent signings in Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, and now-departed Viktor Stalberg.  Today, the cupboard is much fuller with players like Luca Caputi, Jussi Rynnas, Ben Scrivens, Jerry D'Amigo, Marcel Mueller, Keith Aulie.  Some signed, others were acquired, and even more were found with the draft picks we DID have.  The Bozaks and Gustavssons don't even count as prospects, and they're still quite young.  While these players don't immediately help the Maple Leafs, they can help building a winning attitude with the Toronto Marlies.  Building from the ground up, that's how it's done. 

The Leafs have come a long way.  From Stajan, Blake and Ponikarovsky to Armstrong, Kessel and Versteeg; from a team without a leader to Dion Phaneuf, undisputed (though untested) captain of the franchise.  From Vesa Toskala to a goalie that stops pucks.  Even the fact that Nazem Kadri isn't starting the season with the big club says a lot about the difference a year made.

Whether or not it will pan out this year is a mystery.  But you've got to give Brian Burke for trying. 

Hockey at last.  And here we go...