The Obvious: The Leafs Will Miss the Playoffs

I once heard one wag on TSN state that the Leafs eliminating the Sens from the playoffs was a sure sign of spring in Toronto. Truly, at that point it had happened four or five years in a row. But now it seems like a moot point because the Leafs are now not going to make the playoffs for the third year in a row. There is, of course, a lot of denial going around not just in Leaf land but also on the aforementioned network and even NHL.com, with the bold headline "United Maple Leafs refuse to surrender." The line probably derives from Manchester United, another team that can seemingly do no wrong. The Leafs sit 6 points out with 9 games left, which I realize is not mathematically eliminated. But they found themselves in the same spot this time last year, and guess what? There was no miracle comeback, no Hollywood ending. And as usual, the Leafs blamed everyone but themselves and drove out to the golf course. Now that's a sure sign of spring.