Brad Treliving couldn’t sugarcoat it.

“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.

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 season and bestowing No. 1 status on last year’s save percentage leader, Anthony Stolarz.

Defensively, Toronto is struggling and, while it can still put the puck in, the Leafs aren

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