Back after an extended holiday vacation. (Best Christmas presents: a new Stiga table hockey set in the standard Leafs vs. Detroit configuration, an extra set of Leafs players in their home blues and a bottle of white Testors clear-coat enamel. A quick coat of paint on the extra mini-Buds and the Bluebud household has been intra-squad scrimmage city since Boxing Day morning).

Here’s what I want to know following the undefeated start to the new calendar year: is there a deeper team in the NHL than the Buds? Consider who’s been missing during the Leafs’ recent burst into Eastern Conference playoff position:

With holes this big in the side of the boat, it wouldn’t shock even the most ardent Leafs fan to see the vessel taking on water. Instead, The Good Ship BlueBud is steaming toward a pier in Playoff Harbour. (As this is typed, the Leafs are in eighth place in the East. Think the conference-leading Buffalo Sabres—who have already lost two games in 2007—are grateful the playoffs don’t start tomorrow?)

It’s been a tough week for the Leafs; here’s hoping the Christmas respite did them some good (or at least stemmed the injury tide!). Meantime, here’s a little diddy to cheer up the faithful, courtesy of YouTube:

The following was submitted via NHL.com’s feedback page earlier today:

December 22, 2006

To Whom It May Concern:

Seasons’ Greetings! I am writing on the subject of the league’s very innovative NHL Player Sites network promotional feature that is included at the top of every official NHL team and league Web site. I have followed closely the expansion of the network from its well-deserving original member, the oft-overlooked Sidney Crosby, to the current venerable lineup of Ed Belfour, Raffi Torres, and Kevin Weekes.

While the choices made thus far deserve nothing but accolades, I would like to submit a site as consideration for the next addition to the NHL Player Sites network:

http://www.alexandersteen.com/

Following are several reasons why I believe Alexander Steen and his AlexanderSteen.com Web site would be a stellar addition to the NHL Player Sites network:

In closing, thank you in advance for giving careful consideration to my request to have Alexander Steen’s AlexanderSteen.com added to the NHL Player Sites network.

Sincerely,

Johnny Bluebud
Proprietor
http://bluebud.wordpress.com

P.S. — If you ever expand the network to include retired players, I urge you to consider the very informative and content-rich www.tiedomi.com.

P.P.S — I also see you have an Affiliate Sites network. I believe www.hockeyfights.com would be a strong addition there.

This is the first in a series of Leafs Lists compiled exclusively for BlueBud readers and global hockey fans around the world. This particular edition may generate a bit of controversy, as the holder of the #1 slot has skated just 117 games in a Leafs sweater at this writing. However, ol’ Johnny Bluebud isn’t afraid to go out on a limb–after all, what better way to get close to them there “Leafs”, right? Without further ado, then, here is the BlueBud’s official ranking of:

The Greatest Leafs Ever To Wear Sweater #42

3. David Cooper
2. Kevyn Adams
1. Kyle Wellwood

This #42 is #1.

In central Alberta, everybody hates Joffrey and the Oilers need a veteran defenseman.

In. T.O., two co-future Norris Trophy winners (Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe), and two rising future superstar backliners in the making (Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo) mean that the Buds probably could afford to part with a certain veteran blueliner. Meantime, up front, the right side is populated with more left wings and centres than natural right wingers.

Allow Johnny Bluebud to toss out a kill-two-birds-with-one-puck solution. That’s right, we’re talking a good old-fashioned, man-for-man swap: one J. Lupul for one H. Gill.

What the Oilers give up in age and potential, they more than get back in…size!

Okay, so last night’s tilt vs. Florida wasn’t exactly a perfect 60 minutes of hockey from the Toronto perspective. From the mug-is-half-full side of the bar, however, the positives are as easy to spot as empty seats at a Blackhawks home game. A sampling:

Just a thought: Considering Colaiacovo’s Orr-esque pace and continued excellence of Messrs. Kaberle and McCabe, it’s conceivable that this season, for the first time ever, the NHL will have to award the Norris Trophy in thirds.

Leafs sophomores Kyle Wellwood and Alexander Steen hit the ice tonight vs. Florida looking to extend a couple of streaks.

Wellwood is on a four-game points run (3g, 5a). With a point against the Panthers, he would tie his career-best streak of five straight games in the scoring column, set Oct. 8-14.

Meanwhile, Steen will look to continue his run of consecutive games without a goal, which currently stands at one. Steen, clearly taking his 2006-07 role as a bottom-six, penalty-killing forward to heart a year after potting 18 goals as a rookie, had a career-best 27 game goal-less streak snapped last Friday vs. Carolina.

Still time to chime in on ESPN’s “Top Line of All Time” voting, where you assemble trios from a pool of 50 forwards and submit them as “your top line of all-time.” Thankfully, the “experts” (ESPN’s word) that assembled the pool saved Leafs fans some headaches. No need to agonize over Darryl Sittler vs. Teeder Kennedy vs. Syl Apps at centre–they’re not among those offered up by The Worldwide Leader. (Thankfully, though, a formidable 1-2 punch of Doug Gilmour and Eric Lindros are there to satisfiy T.O. fans’ needs down the middle.)

Penguins fans have no such luck–ESPN is forcing them to choose between Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby on a top line.

And woe the poor fans of Le Grand Club. Habs backers must weigh a list that includes both Richard boys, Jean Beliveau, Howie Morenz, Dickie Moore, Guy LaFleur, Boom-Boom Geoffrion, Yvon Cournoyer, and even Bob Gainey. At least they don’t have to fret finding a slot for Guillaume Latendresse….

Mats Sundin garnered much coverage as he skated by Dave Keon on the Leafs’ all-time scoring list this week with a three-point night at Carolina Friday. (He also got career goal no. 508 in that game, surpassing Montreal centre Jean Beliveau on the all-time list and officially putting an end to that debate once and for all.)

Not to be out-done, Sundin’s linemate Kyle Wellwood continued his torrid pace. In Saturday’s 9-2 pasting of the Rangers, Wellwood potted a trio and added two helpers for a career-high five points, giving him an ice-melting 8 points (3g, 5a) in his last four games. That surge has pulled him to within 840 points of Darryl Sittler’s all-time Leafs mark of 916 career points. If he maintains his 2006-07 pace of .91 points per game and avoids major injuries, Wellwood would surpass Sittler sometime in the second half of the 2016-17 campaign.

…tonight’s cakewalk over the Rangers and their gritty captain, Jaromir Jagr, makes three consecutive wins for the Buds against three of the last seven Stanley Cup winners. Fifth place and rising….

And how about that Chad Kilger? Tonight’s two-hit performance gives him a bone-rattling 19 hits and a pair of goals during the three-game march of domination. With Todd Bertuzzi gathering dust on the shelf like an unwanted library book, might it be time to start wondering if Kilger is evolving into the East’s next elite power forward?