Tuesday night the Leafs were mathematically eliminated (I hate math) from the Stanley Cup playoffs after a defeat to the Thrashers, thanks to former Leaf Nik Antropov, combined with a Boston win against New Jersey (in a riveting 1-0 trap-fest).

The Leafs may have been alive technically, but in reality they were eliminated from the playoffs in October after starting the year 0-7-1.

This was a tough season to watch. For most of the season there was little to be excited for and any few wins the Leafs strung together were followed rapidly by many losses.

Watching the Leafs this season has been like going through the five stages of grief, although, instead of grieving for the loss of a loved one, I’m grieving for the death of my hopes and dreams. The season isn’t over, but it’s time to say goodbye. This is the most fitting way I could think of.

There was a point where I truly believed the Leafs late season successes were harbingers for the following seasons. This led me to believe that all the Leafs really needed after both 2006 and 2007 was a capable goalie. Well, I was totally wrong. The problems afflicting the team ran much deeper than that. At that point I was still blinded by the pre-lockout Leafs who consistently made the playoffs and on occasion looked good enough to seriously contend. I was probably blinded then, too.

When I began to realize the deep-seeded problems afflicting the Leafs during 2008 I prayed the Leafs did not excel when the pressure of actually making the playoffs disappeared. Unfortunately, this was the time they did win, ruining the strength of their draft picks. I was a full supporter of Tank Nation over the past two seasons. They needed to fully re-build or else they would never win a Stanley Cup.

Now, most of this season has been very difficult for me to handle (I will go into further detail at another time of just how I dealt with the futility). And now the Leafs are transforming into the late-season good team that somehow appears every season when the pressure is off. Usually this is not indicative of how the team will play the following year. So, is this year any different? Is the Leafs performance over the final months of this season a mirage or is it a sign of things to come?

This is no mirage.

Stop laughing.