Toronto Maple Leaf Rumors: Recent 2-Week Stretch Guarantees Busy Leafs

It wasn't too long ago that TSN's Bob Mackenzie was reporting that the Leafs wouldn't make many moves at the trade deadline. The Leafs were hot, winning the majority of their games, and it appeared that they could win without having to trade away their players.

It made sense. As a GM, you don't trade what is working. The Leafs were achieving what it needed to and built up a good lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference.

Fast forward to today and you can guarantee that Brian Burke, the team's general manager, would be making a trade. 

The Leafs are having a classic month collapse that fans have grown accustomed to over the past few seasons. The Leafs have lost five of their past six games, a two out of a possible 12-point performance. 

A team just holding onto the final spot of the playoffs ensures that the Leafs will be making moves leading up to and Feb. 27, the trading deadline. 

But with this recent collapse, one has to wonder just what the Leafs will be doing. An embarrassing 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night showcased just how far away the team was for truly competing for a title in this league. 

So does that mean the Leafs will be buyers during this final two week trading period, or will they be looking to trade their best players for young players or prospects with talent? It's almost impossible to tell. 

Leaf fans crave the playoffs. Aside from the Florida Panthers, no other team in the NHL has watched the playoffs from the couch as long as the Leafs have. Considering the fact that the Panthers fail to fill their rink during home games while Leaf fans usually end up taking over the opposing arena no matter who the opponent, it's not too surprising that Leaf fans are tired of missing the big dance. 

Will that completely impact the Leafs on their decision on what to do with these few weeks? Perhaps. But what undeniably did  was the team's poor performance over these past few weeks. From sticking together to see how far the team could go, certain players wearing blue and white in Toronto won't be doing so for much longer.