When we reached the holiday season last year, there wasn't much joy in Leafville. This year, however, the fans are pretty happy.
You could feel the buzz as hundreds of people, most wearing the blue-and-white colours of Leaf Nation, lined up to enter the Air Canada Centre before a game against the New Jersey Devils (one the Leafs would ultimately lose 3-2 in overtime.
Jim DeBernardi was one of those in line, wearing a Leafs jersey, his girlfriend outfitted with a painted blue Maple Leaf on her right cheek.
"I like what (coach Ron) Wilson has done with the team," DeBernardi said. "He seems to have pulled the team together. They seemed to be dysfunctional last year."
Carl Dixon likes the goaltending and defence this year, showing his loyalty to goaltender James Reimer by wearing a Leafs jersey with number 34 on it. But he thinks the club can still strengthen its defensive performance.
"We're way ahead (of last year) and we've got players in the top scoring, so it's doable," fan Pat Comeau said about the prospect of the Leafs making the playoffs. He said he likes the team's youth, speed and energy.
"They have new players and (Dion) Phaneuf is the captain this year," said Liam Comeau, Pat's son. The boy is a big fan of Phil Kessel and Reimer.
TSN analyst and retired NHL defenceman Aaron Ward told CTV News he has some other suggestions why fans should be excited.
Instead of making decisions to trade young prospects for short-term gains from established players, "now they've got an established foundation of youth -- and they're performing," he said. "They're a fun team to watch."
The Leafs had gone through a November 2010 3-7-3 death spiral, coupled with going 5-8 that December, which seemingly left them out of playoff contention.
However, they raised fans' hopes with a late-season surge that almost got them into the playoffs for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
Last season at this point, the Leafs didn't have one player in the league's top 30 for goals, assists, plus-minus, save percentage or goals against average.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was then and this is now.
As of this writing (update before publishing), Leafs right-winger Kessel leads the league in scoring with 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points.
Even better, teammate and right-winger Joffrey Lupul is fifth in the league's points ranking, with 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points.
In plus-minus, which measures how many times a player has been on the ice for a scoring play compared to how many times their team has been scored on, Kessel is +1 while Lupul is +3.
However, that's where things haven't changed much. No other Leaf has joined them on the top 30 scoring list. No Leafs player is in the league's top 30 for plus-minus (the cutoff is +10).
Why is that statistic important? The defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins hold five of the top 10 slots in the plus-minus category. They beat the Leafs twice in an early December home-and-home series.
It doesn't hurt that Boston has Tim Thomas, the league's number two goaltender for goals-against average and save percentage.
The Leafs' Jonas Gustavsson has a save percentage of .898, and a GAA of 3.26. By comparison, a top-10 netminder has a save percentage of .930 or higher.
Those first two stats leave him out of the top 30. However, Gustavsson is ranked 22 for wins, with nine victories notched on his goalie stick this season.
A concussion sidelined Reimer in late October. His save percentage since coming back in early December is .892 and his GAA 2.97.
TSN analyst Aaron Ward doesn't care about any stats except wins. "If (Reimer) is having to grind out a 6-5 win, then so be it," he said. "It's two points. That's what matters in the end."
The Leafs were briefly the league's top team in the early going. They are tied for seventh place in the competitive Eastern Conference -- and eight points out of first.
After a strong start last season, the Leafs went 3-7-3 in November and 5-8-0 in December. The swoon effectively left them out of playoff contention, although they came close at the end.
This could be the season where Leafs fans seriously dream about a post-season appearance by the Buds.
"It'll keep things interesting," Ward said of the Leafs' good play to this point -- play which should continue to improve as the club gains experience, he added.
But no fans seemed to be exhibiting any "We're Goin' To The Cup!" giddiness.
Back outside the ACC, fan Carl Dixon went the furthest in saying the Leafs would make it to the second round of the playoffs, but that's about it.
"I don't predict all the way," he chuckled.
