It is an amazing sports story. This team, along with the business Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is a money machine. That is actually an understatement beyond words. The MLSE group make money no matter what. Winning means nothing. It does not matter, and the fans of course are the reason for this, for better or worse. The rabid addiction the Maple Leaf fans have is second to none. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? An argument for another day.
I am extremely frustrated presently, bordering on angry. I do not get like this often, but, like all of you, I have my own thoughts, feelings and beliefs on many subjects and the Toronto Maple Leafs are of course one of them.
My argument may be from a slightly different angle then most.
I have said this before and I will say it again. If I was a hockey stud, and got drafted into the show known as the NHL, the last place I would want to play is Toronto. I want to be clear about something though. If I was asked "What city would you most want to hoist Lord Stanley in"? I would say Toronto. It would be amazing, actually hard to describe. However, as a player, doing the day to day grind of the NHL...Toronto, no thank you.
It is a no win situation. Sorry to all of you media people....but omg, you can be brutal at times. This hockey market is so intense and you simply cannot escape it. I am sure a lot of my readers are tired of my rants...but it is who I am. I may be wrong, but...I am convinced the radio stations and newspaper people in Toronto are happier when the Leafs are floundering. The worse they do, the more there is to talk about. The jokes never end. The fans phone in with their opinions, the talk show hosts tear the team down, rebuild and tear it down again...over and over and over and over. (and over). I hate it.
Now, what is my opinion? About the Leafs? They are in trouble. No question, they are struggling huge. I don't have the answer, I really don't. But at least I admit I don't know, whereas the thousands of experts around the city of Toronto think that they do. It is comical..yet sad.
It is driving me away. I simply cannot listen to Talk Radio. I love 590 and 1050 on your dial...but when they start Leaf bashing...I usually switch to some classic rock, they have lost me. I check back occasionally trying to catch some Raptor talk, or NFL banter...but as soon as I here Leaf Talk....click...back to Classic Rock. I know they get huge numbers, so they don't miss me, because the hard core Leaf fans will talk for hours about their team....HOURS.
I hear everybody saying "blow up the team" - "fire sale" - "start over".
I call BullShit!!
Honestly. Blow the team up? Then what. Start again? -Wait four years, and what if it doesn't work, and the team loses 4 games in a row....then what. Talk Radio cracks their jokes, the fans start to scream, and we "blow it up again"? Unbelievable. We have been through this before.
I actually miss being a fan.
My 2 cents.
I am a Leaf fan. I am not a crazy leaf fan. (not to offend you crazy Leaf Fans) I like hockey and I want the Leafs to win. Our team is in trouble right now. Phil Kessel needs to score. He was hired to score. He is paid $8 million/year to score. Guess what, he does score...he is always near the top of the NHL scoring. Top 20, top 10. Always there, so leave him alone. He never said he was the leader of the team. The media say that because of his salary. He is not a "leader". He is a scorer, and one of the best in the NHL. He does not play great defense. Hmmm...did I mention he is a scorer. I guess he could play more defense...and I guess Stephane Robidas (defencemen for the Leafs) could start scoring more to help out the team. But, that is not what he gets paid for. ( 0 goals and 5 assists).
I don't have the answer. I know this. I play lacrosse with Brian Shanahan, brother of Brendan Shanahan.(Toronto Maple Leaf President). I can tell you this for sure. You will not find two more character guys in sports. Anywhere. As players they are competitive, tough, full of moxy and "Team" players. These are not learned characteristics...they are innate. Brendan Shanahan knows what he is doing, of this I am sure. He is quiet in his role of Leaf President, but he is not absent. I trust him to turn this around, and I will wait it out.
My Leafs are struggling, but, it is not the first time. I don't want to blow up the team....I want to fight, kick and scratch for a Playoff spot and see what happens....and I want to continue this every year. I am ok with this. Do I want to go deep in the playoffs.? Yes. Do I want a Stanley Cup? YES. Blow up the team? NO!! NO!!
Note
- Kessel...score more.
- Phaneuf - Lead more...Defend more
- Bernier and Reimer?? - Stop the friggin puck. I don't care how many shots you face.
We have a lot of work to do. There are fans (like me) that will continue to cheer you on. I want wins as bad as the next guy....and I am going to put a little trust in a "former" lacrosse guy named Shanahan to lead us back. I like this plan.
I hope to get back to talk radio....maybe one day I can.
Go Leafs Go!!
