Leaf-ing on a Jet Plane?

At this point it looks all but certain that the Atlanta Thrashers will be picking up and heading to Winnipeg.

Which, for me, raises a troubling question: will I leave my Toronto Maple Leafs for them?

The Jets will be new, exciting and cool. Could be fun. The Leafs have left me nothing but broken-hearted for years.

Oh, they keep telling me they can change. That next year will be different. Then they go and decide Andrew Raycroft Vesa Toskala Jonas Gustavsson James Reimer is the answer and all will be well.

And I, like a fool, keep believing them.

The Jets could be a fresh start. I could join a happy Jets nation that doesn't have recent failure to drag them down. Simply being there, in those ridiculous purple jerseys, is winning enough.

But ...

The Leafs may actually be on the verge of being good. If Reimer is a legitimate goaltender and if Phaneuf can anchor the team and if Kessel becomes an elite scoring threat other teams worry about and if they can find some other players to fill the holes, they'll make the playoffs and could potentially win a series.

And let's be honest, it's not like the Thrashers are any good. They've only made the playoffs once in 10 years. Last season they traded away their best player for not-much, their two remaining leading scorers were spare parts from the Blackhawks and they finished five points behind the Leafs.

But they won't be the Thrashers, they'll be the Jets (probably, unless they pick a different name for some reason.) Morale - and stable, competent management - counts for a lot.

So we'll have to see. I could probably just cheer for both. But when they inevitably play each other ... let's just say my eyes will wander.