what 2010 will bring

I have no idea what to expect from the Leafs this year as they are the most Jekyll and Hyde team in the NHL, as far as I'm concerned. The one commitment I have made and from which I will not stray is that I will not don any of my Leafs gear and until they are a .500 hockey team--as it stands this second they are four games off of that pace if I am generous and do not count overtime losses. If that were the case, they are presently 13 games off of .500, yet only five points out of a playoff spot! Crazy!

The Leafs have racked up a few impressive wins lately, including knocking off the Penguins a few days back, yet they come into Edmonton and look disinterested. Right now, I would love to know the answers to the following questions: Will the Leafs ever score the first goal in a game?? Will Colton Orr ever not be a penalty-taking knob? What will happen to Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky (both are UFAs at the end of this season)? Will Toskala play well enough to be decent trade bait (yes, we should trade him)? So much yet to be determined...

This new decade begins with a bit of promise, though it's hard not to be skeptical when you have had to endure what Leafs fans have had to swallow for so many years. Only time will tell if the Kessel trade turns out to be a winner, whether Nazem Kadri fulfills his potential, and whether The Monster really does turn out to be the goaltender of the future given time to develop and adjust to the NHL (there have been glimmers of brilliance, yes?)

Let's hope they play well enough in the next while for me to pull my jerseys out of the closet and be somewhat to be a Leafs fan.