The Toronto Maple Leafs have been the early surprise in the NHL this season. Often a doormat the last decade, this proud franchise has finally started to turn around things under the direction of General Manager Brian Burke. This has caused many fans to flock to our website to get their chance to buy sold out Leafs tickets. Although, the question on everyone’s mind is whether injuries will scuttle what has been a great start.
Meek Inherit First Place
The Toronto Maple Leafs are often described as the New York Yankees of the NHL. Perhaps. One area where the Leafs have differed is the fact they haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. After years of mediocrity and outright laughable performances, the team turned to Brian Burke to build a winner three years ago. Burke has done it pretty much everywhere he has been, so the choice seemed sublime.
Well, Burke is doing it again in Toronto, even if the fans have had to suffer through a few brutal years while the young talent developed. For their patience, Leafs tickets holders can now rejoice in the fact the team is now sitting in first place in the Northeast Division, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins who were last years Stanley Cup Champions.
Will Injuries Derail The Leafs?
Every up and coming team in the NHL suffers from the same problem- a lack of depth. The Leafs are facing this very situation now. The loss of Matthew Lombardi, Mike Komisarek, Mikhail Grabovski, Tim Connolly and James Reimer will test any teams fortunes. While one can argue that as long as Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul are playing, the team should be fine, there is no doubt that these injuries put pressure on the team to continue to sell out of Leafs tickets.
As expected, the accumulated injuries resulted in the Leafs posting a dismal 1 win, 4 losses and one overtime loss record over six games in the middle of November. The team simply lacked the depth and talent to overcome the loss of so many players who were getting regular shifts. Fortunately, most of the players returned in the last week of November and the team immediately posted three straight wins. Fans were beginning to worry about their team as Leafs ticket sales slowed at the beginning of this month.
Of the injured, only Mike Komisarek with a broken arm and James Reimer with a concussion are serious. As for Komisarek, the loss isn’t crushing because the Leafs have some young depth on the defensive line and now give those players extended time to see if they are worth anything. Still, the loss of Komisarek for eight weeks is not a good thing.
Reimer’s injury could be a bit more difficult to handle as the elbow he took in the Canadians game looked pretty bad. One needs only look at the roughly 10 months that Sidney Crosby missed with a concussion to know there is no real way to predict when Reimer will be back. Reimer is a solid player, but not critical to the Leafs fortunes moving forward. Look for them to hold him out of games until they are absolutely sure he is ready to go.
Foreshadowing
Will any of these injuries poke a hole in the bright balloon that has been the Maple Leafs season? I doubt it. Brian Burke knows this is the year he shows the Leafs fans his plan is working. If injuries become a problem, you can bet he will be on the phone seeking trades to make sure that people stay interested in purchasing Leafs tickets.
