What do the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff hopes and Balloon Boy have in common?
Both stories have a large measure of hot air and a whiff of hoax about them.
This is not to say Brian Burke and Ron Wilson aren't genuine in attempts to make this hockey team better. Imagine one day a seasoned Jonas Gustavsson in goal, a defence that works on the same page and core forwards that include a healthy Phil Kessel, plus Nazem Kadri, Viktor Stalberg, Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, sprinkled with veterans such as Niklas Hagman and Matt Stajan.
Had Leafs GM Burke and coach Wilson painted that long-range picture, while sticking to the tenets of last year's mantra of a patient rebuild, this awful 0-6-1 start might be perceived in a better light. Looking at what Washington and Pittsburgh had accomplished by bottoming out, fans seemed ready to endure another nuclear winter or two for long-term gain.
What mucked up the plan was Burke's bold pronouncements that 'Big Blue' was now back in the playoff hunt, which Wilson had no choice but to endorse.
Neither knew how Vesa Toskala would recover from last year's woes, whether the new defence would mesh and how the offence would function with lack of name forwards and no Kessel until mid-November.
Yes, the Leafs are better, but so apparently are 29 other teams.
Toronto's tepid start as well as its badly-timed promotion as "Canada's Team", gives the whole club no escape from a wicked fan backlash and more ammo for its detractors.
But Burke and Wilson can't help being proud men used to winning conditions, neither having missed the playoffs in two full consecutive seasons in a decade.
Both MLSEL and the fans wanted a proven Cup winner at the top, to wield a big stick and in Burke, got a man who beat the rest of the pack to Gustavsson, some college free agents and created a new-look front office with competent hockey men such as David Nonis, Dave Poulin and a well rounded coaching staff including goalie guru Francois Allaire. Burke cut the ribbon on a $45 million practice facility, all developments that will be beneficial, just not right away.
But expectations were pumped too high and yes, some in the media drank the Kool-Aid, too. Burke made much of renewed team toughness and raised stakes further with the Kessel trade for what could turn out to be precious lottery picks.
Now he has to deal with the fallout. The Leafs hit the road this week with the daunting task of winning five games on opposing ice just to get back near .500.
Don't expect Burke and Wilson to backtrack on their statements that the Leafs are a playoff-calibre team. But the standings have deflated those words already.
