Well, that was different

My general disdain for all things Toronto Maple Leafs stems from two simple reasons -- I'm a fan of the Buffalo Sabres fan (one of the club's biggest rivals) and, for the most part, Leafs players seem to have a certain arrogance about them.

Sure, they play in Toronto, a hockey-mad city if there ever was one. And the Leafs are members of the Original Six. But, for a team that hasn't won a Cup in decades, one would think that they would be more humble.

Fortunately, I encountered very little of the Leafs' smug attitude Thursday morning, adding another 27 autographs to the collection. Even more surprising, however, were some of the players who stopped to sign -- noted toughies Jason Blake, Alexander Steen, Vesa Toskala and Darcy Tucker.

All in all, though, it was a pretty solid effort for a morning skate. Among the highlights:

~ Captain Mats Sundin signing the 1999 NHL All Star Game helmet, though it took about a five-block stroll to get him to sign it;
~ Six pucks, including the three shown above, from left, by Mark Bell, Toskala and Tucker;
~ Four cards from Nikolai Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky; and
~ A couple of 8x10s, downloaded as wallpaper's from the Leafs' Web site, from Tomas Kaberle and Toronto's Young Guns -- Matt Stajan, Steen and Kyle Wellwood.

Cards shown below, from left, are Antropov, Wade Belak and Ponikarovsky.