Rich Lam/Getty Images

Being a Toronto Maple Leaf fan is a little like picking a scab—you know you shouldn’t do it, but you do it anyways, regardless of the pain.



Most Leaf fans having been picking at their scab for a few decades now, never satisfying that itch, never giving their open wound time to heal.



When General Manager Brian Burke came to the Maple Leafs two years ago it was widely believed that, for the first time in many years, the right man was finally in place to make the Maple Leafs successful before long.



In an effort to make the Maple Leafs a better team Burke has made a number of key acquisitions including trading for Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and J.S. Giguere, signing Colby Armstrong, Kris Versteeg, Mike Komisarek and others, with various degrees of success.



Unfortunately, try as Burke might, his moves are yet to bring a measure of success to this struggling franchise as our beloved Maple Leafs continue to struggle on the scoresheet and in the standings where they currently sit 28th in a 30 team league.



With every loss the frustration level in Toronto rises 10-fold. Nobody has to remind the fans of the Blue and White that it has been 43 years since the Maple Leafs last raised the Stanley Cup—a sight that, as much as we all want to believe can happen, may never come to fruition.



As it stands right now the Maple Leafs are in no-mans land. They are unable to build through the draft because of the Phil Kessel trade and, thus far, Burke's moves are not paying dividends in the win column.



To say that Leaf fans are growing impatient for a winner is an understatement—Leaf Nation wants a winner and it wants it yesterday, and deservedly so.



The trouble is, with the current squad seemingly going nowhere and much of the Maple Leafs future talent two or three seasons away from contributing meaningful minutes at the NHL level, Burke will be forced to try to find a band-aid solution to fix his club’s wounds.



Overpriced unrestricted free agents often handcuff a team's ability to make future moves, gobbling up cap space and making it all but impossible to move those players when/if they falter.



Mike Komisarek is a prime example of what can happen when you pay too much for a player via free agency. At $4.5 million per season, Komisarek’s salary and indifferent play makes it all but impossible for Burke to trade him, while leaving him in the lineup often hurts his club.



Truth be told, acquiring UFA’s in the summer rarely equates to more wins for your hockey club, especially when your club is in need of several players.



Sure, UFA’s can strengthen your club, but there are plenty of examples where the opposite is true—more often than not UFA’s under perform.



So, if the answer is not free agency and the trades just don’t seem to be working out, what are we Leaf fans supposed to do?



Simply put, the Leaf Nation needs to suck it up, remain patient and trust that Burke will right this sinking ship.



The reality is, the Maple Leafs are not a good hockey club, probably won’t be for another two or three years. The sooner we all recognize this the better...