C'mon Leafs...give it up.

It's over, guys...quit teasing us.

Beating Carolina means nothing after laying two straight first-period eggs against Montreal (the team they had to beat twice to have a legit shot).

There is a glimmer of hope, however. I read this article and got excited: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/sports/story.html?id=88fe637a-c56e-40aa-8301-4ffce4931d2b

Here's the gist of the article: the Leafs' plan for the future is to:
1) rebuild the team by developing young talent
2) jettison some veterans
3) not let the public know that's what they're doing

So basically they're doing what I've been saying they should do...they've just been keeping it quiet, fearing backlash from ignorant fans.

Well fear not, John Ferguson and MLSE...you're doing the right thing.

No matter how bad the team is, the Leafs will sell out every home game...so revenue is not an issue.

Quotes like these makes me feel so much better about the club's future.

Ferguson, to MLSE's board of governors 18 months ago: "Guys, we've got to be building talent, we can't just buy it anymore."

Anonymous MLSE source: "Everyone said this team was no more than a .500 team. Everyone knew this was a transition year and it was going to be painful. The club is now looking to build a solid franchise, not buy a championship at the last minute."

This means that come the 2006-2007, Quinn should be gone, Belfour should be gone, Domi and other veterans should be gone, and depending on how far they wanna go with this thing, Sundin might be gone too.

Paul Maurice will almost certainly be in as head coach, and the team will put the franchise in the hands of guys like Alex Steen, Kyle Wellwood and Mikael Tellqvist.

For years, young guys like Steen and Wellwood have never gotten the opportunity to contribute to a veteran-laden Leaf squad. They come to the big club and crack under the intense pressure put on them by and have been shipped out of town for more veterans. Now guys like Steve Sullivan, Brad Boyes, Alyn McCauley are all thriving on other teams, while the past-their-prime geezers like Owen Nolan are long gone.

It sounds like this trend is about to change, and I couldn't be happier.

So to all the Leaf homers out there...suck it up, it's going to get better, and more importantly, it's going to get done right.