Let me tell you a little bit about my history as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
I’m almost 18 years old. I’ve been watching the Toronto Maple Leafs since the 2005-06 season, when I was roughly about six or seven years old. When you look at it on paper, I started following the team at the worst possible time. The glory of the Maple Leafs’ playoff runs and Battles of Ontario from the early 2000’s had just passed, and the team was coming back down to earth.
My favourite players back then were Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker. Back then, I didn’t have the understanding of the game that I do now, being a seven year old. I couldn’t tell if there was something wrong with management or if certain players were underperforming. All I knew was to “cheer for the blue team.” When the playoffs would come around and the Leafs weren’t there, I just waited for next season and hoped to see them in the postseason each year.
That was the beginning of a ten year campaign of watching hell on ice. From garbage trades to awful signings to underperforming players, the Toronto Maple Leafs simply weren’t a fun team to watch. Yes, they did have sparks such as Phil Kessel, but they’d never established a winning team. Management was never what it was hyped up to be and it seemed like every year the fans were left feeling disappointed.
Anyways, enough of my little autobiography.
The Turn of the Tide
The true turning point was right after the 2014-15 season. The man who started the change was Brendan Shanahan. He knew right off the bat that the Toronto Maple Leafs were not going to win with the team they had. He began by firing everybody from top to bottom except for a select few. In the offseason, he hired head coach Mike Babcock. He brought in Lou Lamoriello as GM. They drafted skill over size. Management was revamped, and with the departures of players such as Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, it was officially a rebuild.
Still, the fans were hesitant. “Okay, we’ve heard this tune before. Is it actually going to work?”
So far, so good.
The Leafs’ 2015-16 season was absolutely abysmal, much to the fans’ pleasure. The team was loaded with one year veterans trying to play themselves onto a contender. Nobody expected them to win and nobody wanted them to. Sure enough, by the end of the season the Toronto Maple Leafs had finished dead last and through some draft lottery luck, won the right to select Auston Matthews first overall.
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New Team, New Season, New Beginning
Things were actually beginning to look exciting. After they picked up Matthews, they signed some veterans to plug holes. There wasn’t a need to sign a big free agent name because there were three top rookies who were NHL ready. When the 2016-17 season kicked off, fans were excited but knew not to get their hopes up, as it was only year two of the rebuild.
Safe to say that nobody complained about the year the Leafs had. They made the playoffs and took the dangerous Washington Capitals to game six in round one. They had six players register above 50 points whereas the year before their top scorer had 45. Once the playoffs ended and the awards came around, Matthews won the Calder. Everything was great, despite not winning a cup.
Believe it. It’s Happening
I know. I know that management has led you to believe that a number of times before. I know that it’s almost never worked out. But think about it. They’re developing a team the right way. By drafting and developing rather than trading the future for superstars. Mike Babcock has had a chance to work with these kids since day one and so far, it looks awesome. You see how they played against the Jets on opening night? No, they won’t score seven goals in every game, but they’re a force to be reckoned with.
Players are actually wanting to come to Toronto now. The Leafs managed to pick up Patrick freaking Marleau in free agency. Despite being 38, he’s one of the quicker players on the team and he was a big name in San Jose for his whole career. If you sign in Toronto, you get to play under a world class coach along with an exciting, young group of players that’s hungry for a cup. If there was ever going to be a time when building a franchise was for real, this is the time.
Get ready and hold on tight, Leafs nation. The times are a changin’.