Wake me up when September ends

I can't believe the fans in Montreal. This post isn't really about them, but it has to be said: Booing your still-young and recently ordained #1 goalie in a preseason game isn't just a bit of overkill, it's shooting a butterfly with a machine gun.

Wayne Scanlan does an excellent job of putting this pre-season insanity in its place in today's Ottawa Citizen.

Leafs Nation was close to calling it a season after their 5-0 preseason-opening loss to the Senators. Then, after winning the rematch, normal levels of criticism and insanity resumed. Let's not forget that the Leafs had a record in the realm of 6-3-0 during last season's preseason, and finished 29th during the season that matters.

I'm happy to see that Ottawa, by and large, has not fallen into the same trap. Other than some optimism with regards to 19-year old goaltending prospect Robin Lehner, dodging the hype in the Nation's Capital hasn't been too difficult.

Too many factors haven't been tested and too few Sens regulars have yet to hit the ice together. Now is not the time to condemn or boast about the NHL team which hasn't suited up all at once.

Some say that the off-season, with its increasingly ridiculous free-agent contracts (happy not to address that one, thank you very much), is sport's silly season. Well, I think we've found a new definition.

As the song goes...