General manager expected a lot more from his returning team, his coach and new players as Toronto reaches the quarter pole.

Brad Treliving couldn’t sugarcoat it. Article content

“There has been too much vanilla in our team,” he said in the most troubling of his three annual November quarter-pole media assessments as general manager of the Maple Leafs. Article content Article content

Tuesday morning found Toronto tied for last in the Atlantic Division after its slowest start of the past 10 years (8-9-2), a threat to the club’s NHL-best nine years of consecutive post-season appearances.

That’s despite a favourable home schedule against many of last year’s non-playoff teams, three new veterans who were supposed to shore up all four lines’ depth, the same defence that thrived last seas

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