116 was great until the puck and action goes into the far left corner which wasn't too often. The corners are hot beds for rough and physical hockey action so these seats may just be ideal for you.

We had seats in row 10 which was actually the very front row in this section (there is a tunnel that extends from the ice to beneath the section- it's used for basketball games).
Luckily, the railing doesn't really alter your view of the ice.
It's not that it's hard to get Maple Leafs tickets, it's that you are required to pay a premium for them and we often have a tough time affording lower level seating like most hockey fans.
I do miss the old Maple Leaf Gardens; I grew up there as a kid. It had all of the hockey history and the tickets were much more affordable back then.