Playoff Bound

OMG, OMG! The Leafs are headed to the playoffs!

My tongue is ever so slightly in my cheek with that lede, but it’s understandable that Leaf fans would be excited after Saturday’s victory over Ottawa; a win that clinched a spot in the second season for the first time since 2004.

We could have qualified through the back door with a couple of Winnipeg losses – after nine long years, Toronto would have taken their playoff pleasure any way they could get it – but we did it the traditional way with an emphatic 4-1 triumph over the Senators.

Nine years. That’s the longest post-season drought in the club’s history. My youngest son had just turned two: Jake has no memory of his favourite team ever making the playoffs.  In fact, there’s a whole generation of young fans who have no idea what it’s like to get invited to the dance.

That all changed Saturday night. Finally the kids have something to cheer about.

Us old guys too, the ones like me who remember the good ol’ days. I have actually been alive for four Leaf Stanley Cup parades, though I only remember one: ’67.

So while we finally ended this nagging playoff drought – every other team has made the playoffs at least once since 2004 – we still have that Stanley Cup bugaboo to deal with. When Chicago won the Cup two years ago it ended their record of futility at 49 years, leaving Toronto as the new leader in that dubious category. It will be 46 seasons this spring.

But one thing at a time. You gotta get to the dance to have a shot at the big prize, and anything can happen in a short playoff series.

One thing’s for sure: this place will be rockin’ next month. Especially so if we draw the Habs in the first round, which is how it's looking right now. Can you imagine?

The buzz when the Leafs are on top is incredible, so let’s hope we can have an epic run this year to create some memorable moments for today’s generation of Leaf fans.

I remember Lanny McDonald’s overtime winner in 1978 against the Islanders – a seminal moment for my high school days – and Nikolai Borschevsky’s OT winner in 1993 against Detroit. There were the two trips to the final four in the early 90s during Pat Burns’ days behind the bench and two more semi-final appearances in the late 90s when Pat Quinn coached the team.

There was Dougie and Wendell; there was Domi and Sundin. And there was success.

Now we have Kadri and Kessel; Lupul and JVR. And James Reimer, who will be the key to any success we might enjoy this spring.

 “For periods of time there’s been a lot of sand kicked in the face of the (hockey fans) of Toronto,” Leafs coach Randy Carlyle told the media after the playoff clinching victory. “Hopefully this gives them something to stand up and cheer for.”

I’m ready.