from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

“Last year, it became evident there were players who didn’t play to expectations,” Nonis said. “Either they have to, or you change some of them. Our coaches will go with Step 1 for now. Randy Carlyle was very clear about that at the end of last year and will be again in a few days. We had guys who played (hard) 60 games or 55 and that’s not good enough. We’re not deep enough for that.”

That said, Nonis isn’t going to make a bold Burke-style prediction of playoff fortune. He claims he’s not getting that kind of heat from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, at least not yet. He insists all they’ve asked for is tangible evidence of progress in the coming 48-game schedule.

“We have to add pieces,” Nonis said. “Our ownership wants a team that wins — and wins for a long time — that the people will be very proud of. It hasn’t been ‘make the playoffs or else’. In the end, winning and making the playoffs go hand-in-hand.”

Nor can Nonis give up the chase. The notoriously streaky Leafs might use the short schedule to their advantage and just maybe end that seven-season curse that’s denied the Air Canada Centre of playoff revenue.

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