Toronto_AGM_Adil
Registered User
- Apr 9, 2006
- 337
- 9
(AP) Toronto - Everybody loves the underdog, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are no exception. It's been a long time since fan interest in the franchise has been this high, where now game attendance sits just over 75% despite the sky-high price of $50 a seat. The attendance boost has been so great that the Leafs now sit 2nd in average game revenue and are only one of three teams above the $900K mark.
It's easy to see why the fans are comming in droves. With the aquisition of key assets during the offseason as well as the emergance of talents such as Vokoun and Gionta the leafs now find themselves 10 games into the season at the top of the Eastern conference with the highest winning percentage in the league. This is quite an achievment considering that last year they won only three out of their first ten games and by the end of the season had sunk to the bottom of their conference. It's this complete 180 degree turn in performance on the ice which has led to hockey fans fighting over the priveledge to buy a seat at the Air Canada Center.
After Mondays 8-4 crushing defeat of the San Jose Sharks the Leafs finally came up at the top of the standings. When asked about the standings , forward Brian Gionta commented "We've been very focused on starting the season out well and we were really disappointed with our loss comming out of New York, so I guess we took it out on the Sharks." Gionta had the first star of the night, well deserved after lighting it up four times and picking up his 2nd hat-trick of the season.
However, it must be said that a "good start" is still just a start. The next 70 games will be a real trial for this new team, where many of the fresh faces are still looking to find their roles. One of the toughest challenges will be for the Leafs to fill in their defencive lines, where depth is sorely lacking. This is heavily contrasted by their deep forward bench where players like Vernon Fiddler, Mikael Holmqvist, Brad Larson, Georges Laraques, Jeff Hamilton and Serge Payer are all expected to ride the pine for the entire season. When asked about this situation GM Abbas Chagani responded "We've been in several talks, but nothing concrete has been realized yet. It is a concern of mine, however given how we've been performing I'm in no rush to overpay for a depth defenceman right now."
The Leafs are comming up to a crucial test, were the schedule has them set to play a triple header against last years conference leaders the Boston Bruins. This will be a big three games where a decisive sweep by this latest incarnation of the Leafs will finally give some confidence to Toronto hockey fans that the boy in blue are back.
It's easy to see why the fans are comming in droves. With the aquisition of key assets during the offseason as well as the emergance of talents such as Vokoun and Gionta the leafs now find themselves 10 games into the season at the top of the Eastern conference with the highest winning percentage in the league. This is quite an achievment considering that last year they won only three out of their first ten games and by the end of the season had sunk to the bottom of their conference. It's this complete 180 degree turn in performance on the ice which has led to hockey fans fighting over the priveledge to buy a seat at the Air Canada Center.
After Mondays 8-4 crushing defeat of the San Jose Sharks the Leafs finally came up at the top of the standings. When asked about the standings , forward Brian Gionta commented "We've been very focused on starting the season out well and we were really disappointed with our loss comming out of New York, so I guess we took it out on the Sharks." Gionta had the first star of the night, well deserved after lighting it up four times and picking up his 2nd hat-trick of the season.
However, it must be said that a "good start" is still just a start. The next 70 games will be a real trial for this new team, where many of the fresh faces are still looking to find their roles. One of the toughest challenges will be for the Leafs to fill in their defencive lines, where depth is sorely lacking. This is heavily contrasted by their deep forward bench where players like Vernon Fiddler, Mikael Holmqvist, Brad Larson, Georges Laraques, Jeff Hamilton and Serge Payer are all expected to ride the pine for the entire season. When asked about this situation GM Abbas Chagani responded "We've been in several talks, but nothing concrete has been realized yet. It is a concern of mine, however given how we've been performing I'm in no rush to overpay for a depth defenceman right now."
The Leafs are comming up to a crucial test, were the schedule has them set to play a triple header against last years conference leaders the Boston Bruins. This will be a big three games where a decisive sweep by this latest incarnation of the Leafs will finally give some confidence to Toronto hockey fans that the boy in blue are back.
Same goes for another "waterbug" named Daniel Briere. Can't think what I got for him either. Both no doubt are up there among my dumbest moves in the game. 
, and lets not forget CBJ went all the way to the cup last season.
