The Toronto Maple Leafs are not in contention for the title of All-Time Worst NHL Team. Not even close.
To be considered for such an undesirable distinction a club must exhibit a knack for losing far more consistent than a mere seven-game winless streak.
Their futility needs to branch out to away games and home games alike, and all hope for a mid or late season rally must be lost in the process.
And the Leafs have not reached that soul-crushing level - not yet.
News that the sky is falling around the Air Canada Centre is likely a bit premature, but it's certainly been a dark and ominous October in the Big Smoke.
The Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks have had their fair share of early-season struggles, but no team across the NHL has been able to top the face-plant that the Leafs have done out of the gate.
In fact, fans in Montreal and Vancouver should be thanking the Maple Leafs for taking some of the condemning spotlight off their teams.
Unfortunately for Leafs fans, there are no scapegoats below them in the standings. Even last year's bottom-dwelling New York Islanders squad, who are also without a victory so far this season, have managed three overtime/shootout losses, giving them two more points than the lowly Leafs.
Leaf Nation can of course take some solace in the fact they have a long way to go before they hit rock bottom historically.
Perhaps Toronto can point their finger towards the 1992-1993 Ottawa Senators; granted it was their first season of existence, not that it excuses their 10-70-4 record. The grueling freshman season for the Sens did earn them the top pick in the NHL Entry Draft the next season, a consolation prize the Leafs would not have to look forward to after trading away their first round pick in the Phil Kessel deal. The Senators did, however, use that pick on Alexandre Daigle, which could by most accounts technically count as another loss.
And there are always the 1980-1981 Winnipeg Jets, who went 30 games without a win at one point en route to a mark of 9-57-14. Their play caused some to refer to them as "Lose-ipeg," a nickname far worse than anything the Leafs have been called yet (although it's likely that somewhere someone's imagination is hard at work). The displeasure of fans can be quite the creative force.
Then there is always the disastrous 1974-1975 Washington Capitals. Three decades before they selected Alexander Ovechkin first overall, the Caps were all kinds of awful, allowing an NHL record 446 goals against. And guess which team leads the league in that category this season?
One of the problems facing the Leafs this year is that hope became a strange bedfellow prior to the start of the regular season. It began with the arrival of general manager Brian Burke, who was given high praise for his off-season acquisitions. Francois Beauchemin and Mike Komisarek were believed to fortify the Leafs blueline, Colton Orr and Garnet Exelby were the missing grit the club required, and goaltender Jonas Gustavsson was expected to push starter Vesa Toskala in net.
By all pre-season accounts and with an exhibition record of 6-3, Toronto was seemingly in line to compete for a playoff spot this season. And while it's by no means time to give up hope, the reality for this year's Leafs squad appears to be a little closer to the aforementioned Senators, Jets, and Capitals teams on the talent spectrum.
The fans who have serenaded the ACC with boos and the all-inspiring "0-7" chants from Saturday night will get a chance to rest their vocal chords coming up, as the Leafs have about a week off followed by a lengthy five-game road trip against the Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, and Canadiens.
Now the hope once held in Toronto will give way to fleeting optimism that the time away will give the Buds a chance to regroup and maybe even get their first win.