The trade deadline has come and gone with the Maple Leafs making two deals, both consummated yesterday. In one deal, we traded a draft pick for a veteran defenseman. This deal says "we're going for it in 2006". In the other deal, we traded a proven defenseman for a prospect. This deal says "forget 2006, we're rebuilding for the future".
John Feguson is attempting to suck and blow simultaneously. Today, a day that saw over twenty trades finalized, we sat back and watched the action, paralyzed by a refusal to choose between two polar opposite options. Sitting in tenth, six points out of the playoffs with about twenty games to play, I was hoping we'd play the role of seller, freeing up cap room and collecting draft picks and prospects for the future. Having admitted that, I'd also love to watch my team in the playoffs this season, and had we decided to make a serious go of it, I'd be waving the pom poms. Sucking and blowing all at once, however, is an exercise in futility.
You'd think I'd be used to this by now. Rarely in my lifetime have the Leafs appeared to have a strategy for success. Everything is done half-assed and at the end of the day it's us fans who look like asses. We're on the island tomorrow night as we begin our drive for eighth in 2006. The bar has been set quite low yet it will take a minor miracle to succeed. I'll be watching every minute and cheering like hell for my team, but I've been down this road before and where it leads ain't pretty.
We suck and we blow. That's not as easy as it sounds.
