Babcock: Maple Leafs ‘in a much better situation than I could have hoped’

As far as Mike Babcock is concerned, things can be worse than last place.

The head coach reflected on his first season behind the Toronto Maple Leafs' bench ahead of Saturday's contest against the Boston Bruins.

"We're in a much better situation now than probably I could have hoped," Babcock said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

While the Maple Leafs have won three straight games and five of their last six, the team still sits last in the NHL standings with 65 points.

Toronto is within striking distance of the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, and Columbus Blue Jackets, who are all within three points of the Maple Leafs with Toronto holding games in hand on each of them.

With the highly touted Auston Matthews as the likely prize for the club that wins the draft lottery, though, maybe last place wouldn't be so bad.

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