"Okay, so let me get this straight. When it comes to the Eastern Conference, Toronto's beloved Maple Leafs are battling the Stanley Cup finalists, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the distinction of having scored the most goals, yet have given the most up. Huh? They possess the East's best power play, yet have THE WORST penalty kill. What? Didn't we expect Ron "I refuse to keep Marleau and Thornton together" Wilson to clean up this joke of a PK? (a head shake) These are the Bizarro-Leafs! Don't think so? Just wait until Brian Burke gets thrown into the mix.

I've been saying this for months, (much to the chagrin of the other on-air personalities at XM, as well as most of my friends) and I'm sayin' it now - aside from anything economy-related, these winds of change are making the Leafs the most enigmatic and yet compelling story in the NHL's first half. Attn Leaf fans: Someone is home AND the lights just might be coming on. I say kick back, get some popcorn and enjoy as this drama unfolds. For when it comes to the Leafs, the team, not the business, these times are underrated. Want some proof? I bet you wouldn't trade what you have going on for the situation they have in Ottawa right now. And they have actual all-stars to throw out there every night.

(In case you're new to this column ... HFI is my must-have statistic that represents a player's per-game value based on the categories that most of us use in fantasy hockey. The Higgins HOCKEY FANTASY INDEX, and HFI, are not based on my opinion, like most power rankings or player raters. It's based on the numbers. A lot of them. The only subjectivity lies in the weighting of the statistics. The formula, so to speak. This one is a formula that I've refined with the help of devoted listeners to the fantasy hockey radio show we do on XM, to best meet their needs and to best serve as a base for the conversation. Leagues will always come in assorted shapes and sizes - that's the beauty of this type of gaming, really - but, generally speaking, when it comes to fantasy, HFI is far more valuable to a team owner than any other single statistic out there.)

CHERRY BOMBS:

Oh, Ottawa. How close you were. You were RIGHT THERE! You seemed to have it all, save for a little more size and jam. The narrative was rich with subtext, too - right down to the young goaltender playing in a Cup final. A strong and balanced group of D, a juggernaut offense. It wasn't even difficult to buy into your blistering start of last season. Cut to today and we're talking about a team that many believe needs a culture change. And the whipping-boy seems to be Jason Spezza.

Lest we forget, this is a team that had Zdeno Chara. And has $11 million tied up in its "secondary scoring" of Vermette, Kelly and Fisher, who have combined for 14 points heading into this week. 11 million bucks? For those guys? The Leafs, their natural enemy, are currently spending 11 million dollars to pay for all 6 of the forwards manning the