I have had this idea in my mind for a long time. It has been something that has been swirling in my brain since I attended my last Toronto Maple Leafs playoff game in the Air Canada Center where the Leafs were playing the Philadelphia Flyers in game 6. In that game Jeremy Roenick scored a top shelf goal on Ed Belfour to end the Leafs playoff run while I stood in shock in front of my first row balcony seat. I have never been in a more subdued stadium, even though the Leafs scored twice and it was tied. The fans just sat and watched from start to finish like the game was on TV.
I remember that game vividly as well as every other Toronto Maple Leafs game I have attended since as well as the Blue Jays games, Toronto Marlies games, Argos games, and Toronto FC games. Unfortunately I have not attended any Toronto Rock games so I cannot comment on that. What I remember are the fans most importantly. Regardless of whether the teams won or lost those games I attended the fans were always the same, quiet except for brief moments.
I have never attended a game where the Toronto fans have made it hard for the opposing players to do what they do. I have never been witness to the Toronto sports fans engaging in the age old “6th man on the ice” mentality and cheering their team through tough moments in games. In the ACC the anxiety, nervousness, and fear are just as palpable from the fans as it is from the young team on the ice. No doubt they feel it and let it take over. Who can succeed in that environment?
Just as an aside, make no mistake I’m not making excuses for Toronto teams. They have to be better and they have to be more accountable. There is no arguing that.
This season for the Leafs ended terribly. There is no excuse that you can use to cover up what happened. Not one player on the Leafs roster showed any heart or passion down the stretch.
People say the Leafs “collapsed”, well not exactly. Toronto sports media people love using the word collapse to describe parts of the last three seasons for the Leafs. This way they don’t exactly have to analyse anything.
Brian Burke started the whole “collapse” movement with the “18 wheeler going off the cliff” quote that we Toronto sports fan will never out run along with “truculence”. That team like the one the Leafs iced this season was not good enough and if you think different then you are just fooling yourself. That season Reimer stood on his head for most of the time and they got the bounces necessary to overachieve.
Then came the “game 7 collapse” against the Bruins. I don’t know how you can refer to this as a collapse but then again it is easier to label something with one word then to actually do your job and analyse it. When the Leafs lost the first game of that series everyone said “its over in 4”. Then the Leafs won game 2 and lost games 3 & 4. It was over right there. There is no collapse. But the underdog team came back from a 3-1 series deficit. Toronto outshot the Bruins 12-7 in the first period of game 7 and outhit the home side 18-12 then went on to outshot Boston 8-6 in the second. Yes the Leafs were up in that game and yes they probably should have won, but then again Reimer stood on his head for the most part and the Leafs overachieved again. The better team woke up and did what they were supposed to do. Win the series. When an underdog loses to a contender it cannot be considered a collapse. It was inevitable.
And so we get to this season. Leafs started the season off at 10-4. Then went on a 11-3 run going into the Olympic break. But to end the season the Leafs went 6-15 from March 1st on. Again is this a collapse? No. The team overachieved with Bernier standing on his head for most of the season.
Does anyone else see a theme that is developing here?
The Leafs have not been a good team for a long time. There is no denying that. But to call everything a collapse and to pile on the 5th youngest team in the NHL is not going to get results. This fan base has never been realistic. Leafs like the Jays and Raptors are not good teams. But they all posses good parts.
You cannot call Phaneuf a loser because the Leafs lose games. Just like you cannot blame Reimer for those loses. Despite the things that are said in the heat of the moment one player cannot be anything and everything.
Phaneuf will always be challenged on his leadership. Leafs have no leadership. Of coarse they don’t. You have to blind not to see it. But it is not Dion’s fault.
Chicago BlackHawks have Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook etc.
Bruins have Chara, Seidenberg, Bergeron, Igilna, Boychuk etc.
Red Wings have Alfredsson, Kronwall, Zetterberg, Franzen, Datsyuk etc.
Blues have Backes, Shattenkirk, Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Berglund etc.
Who do the Leafs have other than Phaneuf?
He is the captain, best defenseman (all around), on 1st team PP, on 1st team PK, #1 shutdown d-man, score 35+ points, be a plus player, all for $5 million (what you all think he should get paid) a season and lead the Leafs like Toews, Chara, Datsyuk, and Backes??
uh…..maybe he should shoot lasers out his eyes and leap tall buildings in a single bound?
This city does one thing, and does it well. Believe in the hype. Overrate players and then tear them down. Toronto media spins negativity to keep the fans in a frenzy all year round and keep the newspapers flying off the shelves and the phone lines lit on the radio.
The Blue Jays hype of two years ago is the best example. One giant trade and the best part was Emilio Bonifacio was touted as the best player in the trade. We are talking about a utility player that may come off the bench from time to time that has speed and can score when the game is tight off of a blooper or a short single into the outfielder. But fans in Toronto ate it up. Now whenever there is a highlight of him on Rogers Sportsnet or TSN it’s followed by a joke. why? because he was made into more than he was and by who? All the radio guys who make fun of him today.
In Toronto we like to tout our selves as the most educated fans and the centre of the Hockey Universe, but really we know as much as the media tells us. We don’t know why other teams are better we are just told that they are.
Follow the Penguins model to drafting they told us. Who is ready to trade away Kessel, JVR, Gardiner, Reilly, Bernier only to finish last for 5 years and then to be no better off than the Oilers are now? Because there is no Sidney Crosby coming in any of the future drafts. Oilers found that out the hard way. Plus they made horrible decisions. If you don’t believe me just think how much better they would be if they picked Seguin instead of Hall, and Landeskog instead of RNH, and Reilly/Murray/Dumba and still that does not make them as good as the BlackHawks or the Penguins. Drafting is a crap shoot because none of these scouts know a damn thing about talent. There is a reason why Parise was selected 17th and passed up by 16 teams. There is a reason why Detroit drafted Lidstrom in the 2nd round, Zetterberg was drafted 210th overall, and Datsyuk 171st overall. I will take a proven talent like Kessel over a top pick any day.
Not one scout can detect talent. It is a crap shoot. These guys travel from place to place meet parents develop relationships and eventually pick kids based on some form of bias. Obviously they have no clue what is happening.
Then came the “follow the Detroit model of front office management” talk. Leafs have tried this route as well. Brian Burke was hired then Dave Nonis, Dave Poulin, Claude Loiselle, Cliff Fletcher is an senior advisor and so on and so forth. The most recent hire to the front office is Brendan Shanahan. Someone who was brought in to give this team the identity it has lacked for over a decade.
So what do hear from the Toronto media?
TSN1050 Radio:
“How many guys do you need?” … “Nonis is not calling the shots any more, is he going to be let go?”
Yeah because a president doesn’t need a GM. I mean name one team that has a President that makes all the calls and still has an amazing GM?
Detroit Red Wings Management (via redwings.nhl.com)
Christopher Ilitch – President & CEO, Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
Tom Wilson – President & CEO, Olympia Entertainment
Jim Devellano – Senior Vice President & Alternate Governor
Ken Holland – Executive Vice President & General Manager
Ryan Martin – Assistant General Manager, Hockey Administration
How ever is this going to work? TSN and Sportsnet radio since the hiring of Shanahan have been talking about people butting heads, stepping on each other toe’s — blah blah blah — and Toronto Sports fans eat it up.
The Leafs are trying to follow the blueprint set out by other great teams and improve where they can with the people that are available and all this market can do is piss and moan about the past.
Shea Weber is not available. Leafs cannot trade for Duncan Keith. Dion Phaneuf is it. He has to be supplemented with players that can play and Carl Gunnarsson is not that guy. If the Leafs keep Phaneuf, Reilly, Gardiner, and Gleeson then two solid defensive d-man are needed. Two top-2 defenseman. None are available in free agency and they never will be because teams seldom let these guys go for free.
Leafs have not played defensive hockey since Ron Wilson was hired. This is the key.
Along with the players and the management team the Leafs fans need to do their part and watching the games is not it. Simply showing up to games is not enough. You have to do more if you want any Toronto team to win. Complaining about ticket prices and Stanley cup droughts are useless. Until the 2009-2010 NHL season where the Chicago BlackHawks won the cup the Leafs did not own the longest Stanley Cup drought, the BlackHawks did. But that is all I heard growing up. Chicago last won the cup in the 1960-1961 NHL season. Since they won it the Leafs and Blues both share the burden of the longest Stanley Cup drought since they St. Louis Blues have never won the cup. But at the end of the day non of it matters.
I was at Maple Leafs Square for the Raptors first playoff game in god knows how long and the fans disappointed once again. The energy was there but the Brooklyn Nets players played in an easy atmosphere and they made the key shots and won the game. Watch how the crowd is in Brooklyn and learn Toronto Raptors fans. Leafs fans could learn a thing or two from Montreal Canadiens fans as well. The Bell Centre is always rocking. No doubt it helps the team who has always been better than the Leafs. Complaining about corporate seats does not help either. The “real” fans that show up and sit up high in the nose bleeds are too busy putting on their paper hats with sad faces or showing everyone their funny Leafs jersey that says some about 1967 on the back. I would expect as much from Dallas, Florida, Columbus etc. but not form a town that has had a hockey team for almost 100 years.
From what I have seen and experienced there is more to a team winning a championship than a team showing up and playing a good game. There is a buzz, a feeling, an atmosphere inside the city and stadiums. I felt it in 1992 and 1993 with the Jays. Just watch all the championship DVD’s where the players mention as much.
In Toronto all there is and all there has ever been is negativity. Championships are not won in these conditions. Teams in Toronto start their seasons with condescension and jokes made about them as if to say “who really cares”, they won’t win anyways. You are correct every time. They won’t win a damn thing.
At the end of the day sports is just entertainment. If you are not entertained then change the channel. Do yourself a favor and do not carry wins and losses around like some sort of emotional baggage. The best and worst moments in sports are history the second after they happen. But most importantly do not believe what you see on TV and hear on the radio from anyone who calls themselves a sports reporter. They all have an agenda and bringing you live coverage is never it.
Thank you for reading.
by
Shahriar Balouchi