So the Marlies did a valiant job of restoring some dignity to Leafs nation by getting to the Conference Finals in the AHL Playoffs, only to be whaled on by a far superior Chicago Wolves team (damn you Jason Krog!). As it turns out, half of the Marlies team turned out for the Leafs this season. In theory the future looks bright for Toronto, right?

Well … not exactly.

If you’ve not been inside the bubble that is Leafs Nation, you will have probably come across the fact that they are in trouble. Serious trouble.
As a team who traditionally doesn’t draft well, nor trades well and is a franchise who tends to throw away draft picks for veterans: it seems that the Leafs can do no right. It is a general consensus that if they stopped making money on condominiums and concentrated on hockey, the Leafs wouldn’t be in as big a hole.
And with a string of boneheaded trades (Raask for Raycroft, Boyes for Nolan etc …) and several playoff-less seasons, all seems lost in the eyes of the fans.

Until today.

The finest man that is available has signed on the dotted line.
Ron Wilson is the new Leafs Head Coach.
A man who is synonymous with winning throughout his career and is no stranger to the Leafs organisation has come home to sort out Canada’s struggling team. His uncanny ability to turn around ‘loser-teams’ into ‘Stanley Cup contenders’ has been more than well documented.
And he’s already let it known that he will rule Leafland with an iron fist, taking no prisoners and announcing that the core of the team will change.

Will he buy out all those lucrative contracts and cut the dead weight?
Will he be the one that ultimately ends Mats Sundin’s Toronto tenure?
And will he ever bring home the Stanley Cup that the fans have yearned for almost half a century?

I honestly don’t know but I’m excited that he’s here.

Welcome back to Leafs Nation: Ron Wilson!