At least we have one guy worth cheering for. (VIDEO)

The start to the season has not been what Leafs fans were hoping for, at just 6-5-1 the Leafs find themselves bottom dwellers in the Atlantic division, only the Sabres and Panthers have been worse. It's not just the standings either, some of the usual Leaf issues are rearing their ugly head early in the season, fans are still very unhappy with their Captain Dion Phaneuf, neither James Reimer or Jonathan Bernier has established themselves as the #1 goalie, and the calls for the firing of Head Coach Randy Carlyle have already started only 12 games into the regular season. However through all the negatives, and there are a ton of negatives, there has been one consistent bright spot for the Leafs and it might surprise you. I'm talking about off season pick up Daniel Winnik. Winnil has 7 points in 11 games (piror to the loss to the Coyotes) for the Leafs, and one could argue at only $1.3 million dollar cap hit Winnik has been the steal of the off season. Even GM Dave Nonis, when asked about Winnik, admitted that he had exceeded their expectations;

"It’s early returns, but I think Daniel has done what we expected of him and probably a little bit more.”

Not only has he been a could player from an individual perspective, but since being paired with Kessel and Kadri he has shown himself more than capable of compensating for some of Kessel's defensive liabilities. Compensating all while being productive offensively as he demonstrated last Friday putting up three points with his new line mates in a 4-1 win over Columbus. When speaking with TSN.ca on Monday Winnik acknowledged that he was playing some of the best hockey of his NHL career, but felt he still had room to grow:

“You obviously still want to get better, but yeah I feel like I’m playing some of my best hockey I’ve ever played right now that’s for sure,”

Winnik is coming off the best season of his career after putting up 30 points with Anaheim, and the Leafs and their fans are hoping he can eclipse that mark this season, he is well on his way to doing so. Daniel Winnik may not be a household name to every Leafs fan, but he should be, show the man some love Leafs nation! Here's his first goal as a Leaf: Courtesy :Leafs & Blue Jays.