The Word Is Leaf: October

Well, it's been an interesting month for sure. A 4-0-0 start had lots of people talking positively, but now a 1-4-1 record since, including back-to-back shutout losses to close out the month, has silenced a lot of that enthusiasm. Lots of questions remain about the team's true identity, as the offence is unable to provide a reliable answer. The Leafs continue to puzzle observers, going from a team that couldn't or wouldn't lose at the beginning of the season, to a team that can't or won't score against above-average goaltending. Here's a recap of the best quotes of the month:

“If you go the way training camp went, I think Caputi and Hanson could both make a real good argument that this isn’t a fair result."
-Brian Burke

"This business is cutthroat, and it's no secret."
-sympathetic Marlies teammate, Jeff Finger

“He got a call from the governor on this one. He got a reprieve."
-Burke on the near-execution of Mitchell

“Not going to try to kill everyone the first shift.”
-Mike Komisarek alters his approach

“The goal was unbelievable. Everything a little boy in Cambridge pretending he was a Maple Leaf could ask for."
-Tim "Legend" Brent scores the Leafs first goal of the season

"Looking at this game, this is one where they tie it last year. This time because of his great saves, we get the win.”
-Wilson on goaltending, after the first game

“We need solid goaltending and not lose sleep over who’s starting, or who’s going to play, and can we get through the first five minutes without letting in a soft goal? Those are things we’re not worrying about now.”
-Wilson continues to talk about goaltending after the first game.

"We play simple. We work hard. We listen to the coach. We shoot the puck and play aggressive.”
-Mikhail Grabovski talks to reporters like a machine-gun talks to a battlefied

“Sitting out a few shifts is a lot louder than my voice. The bench screams.”
-Ron Wilson after sitting Kessel

"They're really real."
-Colby Armstrong when asked how "real" the team's wins feel.

“That’s a question that my granddaughter would ask,”
-Wilson when asked if he is pleased with the team’s start.

"The Toronto Sun has great value if you own a puppy or a parakeet."
-Brian Burke

“That’s awesome. I’m in the record books for something!”
-MacArthur, the first player in the history of the Leafs to score in each of his first four games. And now Jeremy "3 goals in 3 games" Williams will just be known as what's-his-name.

“And anybody who tells you being snake-bit doesn’t suck is lying to you.”
-Versteeg

"I don't care what Dwyane Roloson does, I care about our team."
-Versteeg

“You can always get better at anything you do."
-The Mike Brown Attitude

“We could have put our heads down, stopped skating, stopped playing. We could have found a way to lose. Instead, we found a way to win.”
-Giguere is awesome.

"August 15 was probably the best day in my summer. I was really glad I stayed here.” -Tomas Kaberle

"The off-season was long, the summer was long, there was a lot of stuff in the papers, blah, blah, blah. That’s not what players are looking for, we’re looking for two points.”
-Kaberle

"No one is going to come in and get us out of this. It’s the guys in this room that will get us out of this and we’re confident we will.”
-Dion Phaneuf

"No, we will not rush Kadri... I want to get Kadri ready to play 10 years in the NHL, not 10 games."
-Burke

"You don't stand and wait for something to happen. It's my job to make something happen."
-Wilson