Damned if you do....

So the season is once again winding down in the NHL and all that's really left to decide is well, everything. I can say this is at least one thing the league has done right in the past few years as the parody has never been better, and almost all the teams could have made the playoffs, with some luck naturally. The playoff picture changes daily and there are a number of teams who could hoist Stanley in June. That being said we can pretty much count out a few squads all ready with only a month to go and either to much ground to make up or to many teams ahead of them, such as in the case of the Maple Leafs. Toronto is set to miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season while their eastern conference buddies in Ottawa and Montreal are looking to make legitimate cup runs. Yet the Leafs continue to sell tickets without any problem, and have actually started winning games, again, all be it to little to late. A loss to Boston tonight would really leave them blowing in the wind...terrible I know...but the point is the Leafs have once again put themselves in a position to go nowhere in terms of turning things around. True they have a bonified number one goalie in Vesa Toskala but little to no defensive help in front of him, and not nearly enough NHL caliber forwards to put the puck in the net. This is nothing anyone covering the Leafs hasn't covered ad Nauseum all ready, and Sundin and the like were dragged through the mud for not waiving their no trade clauses but these guys were not the problem. It's the rest of the team. There are simply no up and commers or well added players to fill in these gaps. The Leafs will play well enough to not get a high draft pick and despite the fact this is supposed to be a fairly deep draft class with the likes of Stamkos and Doughty up for grabs, they will not get them. Unless they dump some bodies overboard for high draft picks, not the kind they obtained at the trade deadline. And yes the draft can be a bit of a crap shoot, with the like of Theo Fleury, Daniel Alfredsson, Pavel Datsuyk and Henrik Zetterberg showing that you don't have to be a high pick to make an impact but more often than not these are exceptions to the rule, not the norm. So in Ottawa this summer on draft day the Leafs will either find themselves adding what could be their future or watching the storm clouds continue to circle...better bring an umbrella.