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Top 5 Most Hated Toronto Maple Leafs Members of All-Time

By Stephen Nixon

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 21: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts after Sean Kuraly #52 of the Boston Bruins scored during the second period of Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at TD Garden on April 21, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 21: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs reacts after Sean Kuraly #52 of the Boston Bruins scored during the second period of Game Five of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at TD Garden on April 21, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 21: Jake Gardiner #51 of the Toronto Maple Leafs .  (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Hate is such a strong word but when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs, that word gets said a lot.

If you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan reading this today, you’ve 100 percent screamed at your TV and said “I hate (insert player’s name)!”

You don’t actually mean that, because if you ever met that person in real-life, you’d say they were your favourite player in the world, but at that given moment, hate (and probably some other expletives) get used frequently. And you know what, that’s okay.

Sports are all about the love-and-hate. One day, you’re praising a certain player for scoring a goal and then the next day, you’re burning their jersey in the streets. It’s the fun part of being a sports fan.

Although, it’s not appropriate to scream anything too inappropriate at a player, it is okay to be disappointed with them if they don’t deliver in a crucial moment. For example, I have nothing against Matt Frattin as a person. From everything I hear, he’s a fantastic human-being. However, I think myself and one million people in Toronto screamed some pretty hurtful things at their TV in regards to Frattin missing a breakaway in Game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against Boston.

For the professional athlete, that’s not a fun thing to go through. You’re living out your dream making millions of dollars, but still get screamed for messing up. Nobody grows up wanting to get scored on like Glenn Hall in the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals. They dream of being on the other side flying through the air like Bobby Orr did to secure a Stanley Cup on that same play.

However, things happen and one bounce can change a person’s career forever. Although sports are supposed to bring people together, sometimes that comradery comes from screaming “You suck” in unison with 20,000 of your closest friends.

Throughout the years, Toronto has had plenty of foes that fans have continued to harp on. This year it was Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie, but things have gotten much worse for a few previous Toronto Maple Leafs players and executives.

Here are the top five most hated Toronto Maple Leafs members of all-time.

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