Thoughts and Musings...

Well, another season is officially over for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It started off on October 5, 2005 versus the Ottawa Senators in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Air Canada Centre. That game saw the loss of our captain, Mats Sundin to a horrific eye injury that kept him out for quite a while.

After that game, even with the loss, the season seemed like it would be a great one. With the new rules instituted to 'make the game better', the season also seemed like it would be a high-octane, fast paced all out hell of a game.

Come November, and the game started to become less interesting to watch. I found myself not caring whether a hockey game was on or not. I'd watch it, but get distracted by some other show that came on when I went channel surfing during a commercial break. It's sad. I love my Leafs, but I lost quite a lot of interest. For this I blame the 'new game'.

I know this sounds like an excuse for the Leafs poor performance, but it's not. The team wasn't prepared to play this 'new game' and they suffered for it greatly. They had the unfortunate mess of having players not suited to the new style and a new GM who didn't know jack about running a proper hockey team.

Throughout the season, the Leafs were just not the Leafs they have been in previous years. The entire season they seemed disconnected and uninterested in playing well. It wasn't until this past week or so, when they realized their playoff chances had dwindled to what one would call 'a chance in hell of making the post season' that they bothered to play that hich-octane game we've all been watching.

It's a shame they waited too long to do this because as of April 15, 2006, the Leafs season is officially over. Yes they finally beat the Senators, and beat them handily 5-1 I might add, but their playoff fate was to be decided by another team. The Tampa Bay Lightning was that team. They beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in overtime to officially put the Leafs out of contention.

It was a sad night for Leafs fans everywhere and the playoffs, for myself anyway, will not be the same. Thanks for what entertainment you did provide us Cup-starved hockey fans in Toronto, but we'll have to wait atleast another year for that glory to be within our grasp again.

Peace.