Mikhail Grabovski

Mikhail Grabovski has been hot in the month of January recording 17 points in 13 games.

His play has lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a great month improving their overall record to 26-19-6 for a total of 58 points. Their play has been good enough to have the Leafs sitting in 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Boston for their fourth meeting against the Boston Bruins.

So far this season, the Bruins have won all three meetings rather convincingly, outscoring them 19-5 and look to feed on a very successful November, having won 25 of a possible 26 points.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team is creating some serious buzz around the NHL this year.  With a new look, a new go-to goalie and Phil Kessel lighting up the score board, things are looking up for the Leafs this year.

Unlike last year's hot start, the Leafs have managed to sustain the momentum.  This article will look at some of the reasons why the Leafs are currently tied for first in their division. 

Before people start getting the wrong idea about the purpose of this article, it is solely a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs system and who amongst them would be the most likely to win one of the yearly NHL awards. This is a completely hypothetical article and we have no way of determining whether any of these will win or even be nominated for an award in the future.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of questions going into this upcoming season. Can Tim Connolly stay healthy? Can he be the No. 1 pivot to help Kessel break the 40-goal mark? Will the special teams be any better? Will goaltender James Reimer continue to have the same success in the crease as he did at the end of last season? Have the additions to the defensive core made the team stronger? And can the Mac-Russian line continue the success they had last year as a unit?

The Toronto Maple Leafs began the 2010-2011 season on fire winning their first four games of the season, instantly dispelling critics views on the team. Many prognosticators had them finishing in the cellar of the Eastern Conference, but after the hot start, the view of the Maple Leafs instantly changed from a surprising pessimism, to nauseating optimism in Hogtown.

With the 2010-11 season winding down it appears as if our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs will be hard pressed to make the playoffs.

No, not that dream. We're not gonna win the Stanley Cup this year, so don't plan the parade. Of course that's a bigger problem for me than the average person as I don't know what to do with the 6000 cartons of Eggos Waffles I have bought.I mean a dream I had growing up.

Buy low and sell high.

That is the theory, right? Given the high price Brian Burke was able to secure for trading out roster players like Francois Beauchemin, Kris Versteeg and Tomas Kaberle – perhaps following that theory should be the primary focus for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Think back to the beginning of this season. If I had predicted that three Toronto Maple Leafs players would score 30 goals this season, admit it, you would have laughed hysterically.

Now, fast forward to the day of the 54th game of the season. Currently, Phil Kessel (although on a agonizing goalless streak), Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin are all on pace to score at least 30 goals by season's end.