For me the most surprising part about this season was Toronto’s very sudden success.  Overnight we turned into contenders and that has been an amazing ride.  The team was firing on all cylinders this year and we made the playoffs and got to the semi finals.  I didn’t see this coming and wasn’t expecting to have such an outstanding regular season.  This season saw a lot of the guys step up big and put up great points totals.  Carpy continues to be great in net, which is the least surprising part of this season.  We ended the season second place in the east with 98 points, only behind the Steelhawks who are now in the finals.  We had great seasons from our forwards with four plays scoring 60 points or more and two 70 or more scorers.  One of the 60 point players was Adam Barron, a defenseman.  It was nice to see a lot of depth scoring as well.  The whole team worked well together and it’s only going to get better for the next few seasons.  I can’t wait to see how the next season goes for Toronto.


It’s really disappointing to be on the outside looking in at the finals this year.  It stings much more than usual because for the first time, Mika was playing for a spot in the finals this year.  I really wish Toronto was going for a cup this season to cap off their incredible year.  Alas, we didn’t get it done against Buffalo and so here we are.  Next season, Mika is going to work even harder to help elevate the team.  He’s in regression but still in the prime of his career.  He’s going to try to continue to improve his offensive numbers, most importantly, getting more goals.  Mika had a very low shooting percentage this season that he’d like to see improved.  On top of just what he can do on the ice, Mika wants to use his veteran leadership to help motivate his team.  This will become important when the team is in a deep playoff run and having a tough series.  He wants his teammates to be able to lean on his experience when the times get tough so that they can all dig deeper and get the win.


If I’m the home team, I’m choosing to be immune from penalties, offsides and icing for the entire game.  While having 6 players might be nice, being able to trip, hook, slash, board, and crosscheck them at will is too huge an advantage to give up.  It would be so much easier for the home team to defend if they don’t have to worry about penalties.  Not to mention, they could just have one guy plow over the goalie leaving an open net.  There’s nothing 6 skaters can do to stop that onslaught.  Not to mention, they will probably end up taking retaliation penalties giving the home team even more of an advantage.  6 guys playing clean is not as good as 5 guys playing without consequences.


I’m obviously biased, but I think Toronto was the best team not to make the finals this season.  They were second in the east to only the Steelhawks who are in the finals.  Toronto has an incredible goalie and a team with real top end talent and a lot of depth up and down the lineup.  They are able to be an offensive force and solid defensively.  You might look at the standings and see that Texas had more points, and a better goals for to goals against ratio and think, well obviously Texas is the best team not in it.  No.  Texas didn’t have to play in the Great Lakes division all season.  Toronto played harder competition and still had an amazing season. 


3tpe milestones


I'd like to take a second to send my appreciation to a couple of my teammates in Toronto real quick.  @ml002 and @Carpy48.  You two were there when I was drafted and the team was in shambles.  You are both still here while the team is now finding success.  You're both troopers and just incredibly nice people to associate with.  I have enjoyed being your teammates and being in the locker room with you throughout the entirety of the Toronto rebuild.  I'm so happy we are finding success now and that the room has grown with so many active members.  You both are awesome and I can't wait to win a cup with you.