Darling You Gotta Let Me Know

So now that the Leafs are knocking off all the best teams in the league, what are we, we poor, suffering, handsome fans supposed to think here. If Toronto is not careful, they're going to wake up in eighth place one morning and then we're all in trouble because you know once that happens it's full throttle all the way to the playoffs baby, forget shedding salary and planning for happier tomorrow.

You'd think that a cozy afternoon game against Detroit (there is something inherently right about watching Toronto and Detroit play each other, something positive and reaffirming and wholesome I think) would be an auto loss, you know, but with these Leafs the moment you start expecting them to do one thing, the moment you think you have this team figured out and pegged down and ain't nothing going to change that, they start making you look stupid. It's nice that Darcy Tucker is scoring again (if I can be so modest, it's probably cause I called him out before the Montreal game), and Vesa Toskala means for once goaltending is not the problem. But why now?

You start walking down this path, you start listening to this harpy's song, and suddenly you find yourself thinking hey wait maybe this team can actually make the playoffs, or, hey maybe Mats Sundin and Kubina and Tucker and McCabe could actually do more good if they stayed in Toronto, which is just a roadmap to more heartbreak, but it is seductive and hard to look away from. Next week is big. If the Leafs keep winning, (games against Buffalo, Islanders, and Boston, ie, all theoretically winnable) expect someone high up in management to let it slip that the Leafs are gunning for the playoffs. Not that they will be buyers, but I can see them standing pat, maybe moving a veteran if that special deal comes along.

The point is, a winning week will be the worst thing for this team. It will leave them in this sticky, should we stay or should we go no-man's land area of the Eastern conference where the only things that ever happen are 12th overall draft picks and 9th place finishes. Fletch, please, scuttle this team before they have a chance to make trouble.