Despite failing to get out of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in four years, the Toronto Maple Leafs refused to push the panic button.

Last spring, Toronto lost to Philadelphia in a taxing first-round series between the fourth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference.

The wholesale changes that many observers expected to happen in Toronto have yet to come to fruition. In fact, the club has only made one major signing to date, inking tough defenseman Bryan Marchment to a free-agent deal. Marchment, who was traded from San Jose at last year's deadline, finished the past season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Marchment, 34, is a give-no-quarter defenseman who is a good fit for the physical style employed by coach Pat Quinn. He is much more physical than defenseman Glen Wesley, who left the Maple Leafs this summer as a free agent after spending just a couple of months with the franchise. Wesley was obtained from Carolina at the trade deadline and played well, but he returned to the Hurricanes this summer as an unrestricted free agent.

Marchment also is far more rugged than defenseman Robert Svehla, who is mulling retirement. Unsure of Svehla's intentions, the Maple Leafs were eager to sign Marchment to insure the club remains solid on the blue line.

Despite the lack of free-agent signings, it has been anything but calm in the hockey-mad city of Toronto.

Not only did the club lose Wesley, but depth forward Paul Healey, who played well in limited action with Leafs, signed a free-agent deal with the New York Rangers.

Throughout the summer, rumors swirled that the club was close to landing high-profile free agents. But the whispers suggesting that free-agent defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky and free-agent center Joe Nieuwendyk, both of whom played for the Cup champion New Jersey Devils, have yet to materialize into legitimate news stories.

Also, the club announced in July that it would be seeking a full-time general manager to alleviate some of Quinn's workload. Quinn is one of the few people in the League to handle both coaching and front-office duties.

If a GM is found before the season starts, Quinn will be able to invest all his energies in returning his club to the lofty status it is held for the past four years as one of the East's legitimate Cup contenders.

With goalie Ed Belfour, signed as a free agent last year to replace Curtis Joseph, proving that he is up to the challenge of carrying the team on his shoulders, the Leafs are in a position to make life miserable for many of the NHL's teams.

Owen Nolan, obtained just before the deadline from San Jose, played most of last season while battling a back injury. If he is healthy again, he makes Toronto's one-two punch of Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny all the more dangerous.

Quinn should get an early read on his team as the franchise is slated to take part in September's NHL Challenge, a 10-day trip to Finland and Sweden that features games against European powers Djurgarden, Farjestad and Jokerit.