TORONTO — Confidence can work a bit like a puzzle. In the process of building it, often times it's left incomplete and sits unintended on a coffee table in a basement somewhere. You'll get around to it, maybe. Or most likely you won't. Other times, those pieces come together without much effort, and for the end product to be displayed just like that.
When it comes to confidence, not puzzles, it seems like the Toronto Maple Leafs left it on the table — or at least dragged its feet in the process of acquiring and cultivating it.