The Monster

"I've looked into the eye of this Island.... and what I saw was beautiful." -- John Locke

"I've looked into the eye of the Maple Leafs net....and what I saw was HOLY MOSES WHAT A SAVE!!!!!" -- Me



Yeah, it's a preseason game. And yeah, it was a horribly lazy effort from the Wings forwards that should drive Gordie Howe to come out of retirement just so he could beat the hell out of them at practice. And yeah, it was just one save.

But we're all hoping that in 11 months time, that save is the centerpiece of the 'but things were taking a turn for the better...' segment to "The Wait Is Over: The 2009-2010 Toronto Maple Leafs Team Video." The ACC fans weren't just cheering a great save, they were cheering the fact that after five years of mediocrity*, the Maple Leafs look like they're going to be a team worth watching. Jonas Gustavsson, please be awesome. Please be the kind of rookie gem that other teams seem to dig up while the Leafs are busy signing Mike Peca to contracts. Please keep Vesa Toskala stapled to the end of the bench. Please just let us watch a bit of meaningful hockey in April this season, we beg of you. No pressure or anything.

* = I'm sure some clever and original people will argue that it's more like 42 years of mediocrity, but the Leafs were probably the best team from 1992 to 2003 that didn't actually win a Cup. You could argue the Senators, but.... (dismissive wanking motion)