My Thoughts And Predictions...

Next Thursday, the Leafs begin the 2009/10 season with a new line-up against an old rival in the Montreal Canadiens. With all the changes to the roster, fans of the Leafs from all around once again look hopefully into the future. We all hope for a miracle season with the Leafs making the playoffs then grinding through the playoffs, finally grabbing the Cup and breaking the long, long, long, long drought.

Is this version of the blue and white an improvement over the teams from the last three seasons? Brian Burke came into the organization midway through the 2008/09 campaign, but did not put his stamp on the club until the off-season. It started with the signings of college players like Christian Hanson and the talented Tyler Bozak, and continued at the draft where Burke added skill with the first pick and toughness with the rest. With free agency came true change. Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and Garnett Exelby add a new level of toughness and grit to the defence while Colton Orr is the true heavyweight the Leafs have missed since trading away Wade Belak. "The Monster" was also brought into the organization, giving us a goaltender who should be able to push Vesa Toskala and provide us with depth in goal.

With the recent addition of Phil Kessel (out until mid-November after shoulder surgery) to the forward corp, the Leafs have a little bit of firepower to go along with the fire added during the summer. Are these Leafs better then those of years past?

I think that the Leafs will be a harder team to play against. I also think that with Komisarek and Beauchemin added to a group that includes Luke Schenn and Jeff Finger, the penalty kill should be much improved. In goal, a healthy Vesa Toskala has looked quicker and more flexible in the preseason and should play better then he did last year. Up front, the Leafs lost some offensive punch when they traded away Nik Antropov at the trade deadline, but the addition of Phil Kessel and improvements from Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin should have the Leafs in the middle of the pack. If given a chance, I think the three young college players (Bozak, Hanson and Viktor Stalberg) that have looked great in preseason play could also have an impact by adding an element of speed that the Leafs have lacked.

If Toskala is healthy now, I think the Leafs have improved enough to have a good chance at 5th to 8th in the Eastern Conference. Boston didn't improve (although they are the best team in the division), Montreal shook things up and could go either way, Buffalo didn't improve and Ottawa is full of question marks between the pipes and on the blue line.

I am excited for this season. I really believe this team has improved and should be much better then the team that played last year. I can't wait for the opener on Thursday! GO LEAFS GO!