“You don’t need to go out there in sackcloth and ashes, but you’re a terrible team, your leader just got the chop and you’re being filmed. Show some goddamned sense.” – Trading Phil Kessel is the key to overdue rebuild of the Maple Leafs – Cathal Kelly
I don’t agree with Kelly on Kessel, but I do agree that a corrosive influence kills the dressing room, and a team suffers as a result. No one on the Leafs has shown any kind of leadership. No. One.
Same bullshit all the time, with trite statements after every embarrassing loss, smugness instead of humility when they do go on a tear, and an attitude towards its fan base that is grating. There’s blame to go around everywhere (dear ridiculous Toronto media – I am looking squarely at you jackasses), but a lot rests with the people who can’t stop watching.
MLSE doesn’t need to make changes because they’re making money hand over fist. Harold Ballard realized he could field the worst teams and it wouldn’t matter. He just spent a lot less than MLSE, and pocketed the change.
As long as the seats are filled, there won’t be a lot of change. The Leafs’ fan base and corporate base need to make changes. Stop watching. Stop paying. Stop buying Leafs gear. Stop filling the seats. Then, maybe, you’ll see some movement.
I keep saying I’m going to give up on the Leafs, and never do. I’m part of the problem.
Dear Toronto Maple Leafs, I give up. I’ve been a loyal fan since the Ballard years, and it’s time to let that go. It’s not me, it’s you. You don’t even try any more, mostly because you don’t have to. Good luck.