This Bud’s for You?

How do Toronto Maple Leaf fans feel about their team lately? If you follow the NHL and are Canadian, born in Ontario, there’s are very good chance you are a Leaf fan.

I was born in 1968. Just my luck! The year “after” the Toronto Maple Leaf’s last Stanley Cup winning season. Since then, very few memorable seasons, other than individual achievements. Considering the Leafs are one of sports’ most profitable franchises in history, I would venture to say their competitiveness is rather dismal, to say the least.

Being Canadian, hockey is one of my few joys in life. What really disappoints me, is that I have followed a team, through thick and thin, cheered them on continually, only to be dumped on time after time. I know that you can’t expect your team to win endlessly, year after year, but, come on man, throw me a bone.

In recent years they did go out and spend some money. Locking up Kaberle, McCabe and Tucker. This past off-season they picked up Blake. Whoopdeedoo! “What have they done for us lately”? As far as I’m concerned, diddly-squat. These four individuals make up almost half of the Leafs’ salary. What are management thinking??

When you watch the Leafs play, pay close attention to their play in their own end. They remind me of the Secret Service around the President. Holding their arms out, setting up a perimeter of their net. Allowing the opposition to circle the wagons and prepare to strike. Heaven forbid, they’d actually skate out and forecheck the other guys, rather than be sitting ducks. I’d hate to be a Leaf netminder.

Now, there’s a big to-do about Sundin. I admire this guy. I think he knows exactly how Leaf fans feel. Season after season, much to-do about nothing. At least, he’s getting a big fat pay cheque. Us? No, we have to pay more for tickets and watch our team flounder around the ice like a bunch of albatrosses.

Solutions?

Well, for one thing, we need some toughness. Belak can’t do everything. Especially when he only plays a quarter of the games, if that! Every time the Leafs play Ottawa, I can just see Neil and McGratten licking their lips and rubbing their hands. I also think we need some offensive veterans to help along our young talent, and we do have some good young talent. We need some seriously aggressive defensive play and our guys to stick up for eachother and play as a team, not as individuals.

All in all, I truly believe the Leafs have talented enough players to be a force to be reckoned with. They just need to earn their pay a little more. I can see the frustration on their faces, can they see ours? But, that’s just my opinion.