The Kingdom of Philtopia

As it looks at this point with 12 games to go this season is probably in the books for the Maple Leafs and they will most likely miss the playoffs again this year being 6 points back from 8th right now. Sure they could technically get to that 8th position but in order to get there The Hurricanes, Sabres and maybe even the Rangers need to stop winning and statistically that looks unlikely. Now while this is of course this is once again disappointing for us leafs fans there is some hope to be taken from this season.

Improvement

This year is the first year since returning from the lockout that the team has actually shown improvement. Since the lockout the team has progressively gotten worse until hitting rock bottom last year. Right now the team has 4 players with over 20 goals, 3 of those players may finish over 30 this season and we have seen the 3rd and 4th lines become a contributing force to the team. Grabo’s line has been phenomenal this year scoring several hero moments over the year to help pull us out of the bottom and into the playoff race we were just in.

James Riemer

This kid has been stellar since coming up in January. I know his last few games may have been a bit rough but we have been riding him pretty much this entire half of the season and I am not surprised that it has caught up with him a bit. This kid will finish with a better winning record than Giggy this season and I expect to see him back as the #1 guy next season. If he can survive the pressure of Toronto it should be a whole different game next year. What gets me the most about this kid is he always seems happy. Most goalies have traditionally looked criminally insane and I suppose having a job where you are pelted with rubber for 2 and a half hours would require a level of Insanity but James is happy, cool and willing to take ownership of his mistakes. I look forward to seeing him next season.

So while yes, this season is most likely another playoff wash for us Toronto fans we have seen actual genuine improvement this year and if this trend continues into next season we will be back in the playoff game next season and hopefully serious contenders the season after. There are good times ahead