Toronto Maple Leafs: Is the NHL Ever Going to Start Up or What?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have played five games in nine months.

The NHL went on pause in March, and then in August the Toronto Maple Leafs gave us about a week and a half’s worth of entertainment, and we’ve been just kind of sitting around waiting ever since.

Now, I fully respect the fact that it’s difficult to set up a pro sports league in the midst of a pandemic, but the NHL had a very successful playoffs, and the NBA and NFL are both currently playing – and the NHL?

Not a word.

The Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 Season

For the longest time, the NHL was rumored to begin on January first, but that clearly isn’t going to happen.  It would have been a nice date, and its a shame it didn’t come to fruition because the NHL is really missing out on a great opportunity to showcase its games on New Years Day.

Last week, NHL reporter Greg Wyshnewski tweeted about a 56 game schedule possibly starting in mid January, and  Darren Dreger tweeted this:

If this is true, then the Toronto Maple Leafs would open training camp in just over two weeks from today.  As someone who has written about the Leafs every day for the last nine months, you better believe I absolutely cannot wait until training camp starts.

Again, I hate to criticize because I understand its a difficult time and everything, but I can’t shake the feeling that the NHL is blowing an opportunity here to get people excited.  If you aren’t the kind of person who reads tweets from NHL insiders all day long, you’d scarcely have any clue what is happening.

On NHL.com there the top story is about ex- Toronto Maple Leafs forward Alex Steen retiring.  There is a story on there about the NHL starting “sometime in mid January” but it’s hardly the blaring GET READY FOR THE PUCK TO DROP headline I was hoping for.

The NBA pre-season is already underway, and they are playing a 72 games season that will end in Mid May (or at least that is the plan), and while I realize the NHL has seven Canadian teams and an entirely different set of problems and circumstances, it’s still hard to not look at the NBA and be frustrated with the NHL.

I was hoping for announcement this week, and maybe we’ll still get one.  The bottom line is this: The Toronto Maple Leafs have the best team they’ve ever iced, and I cannot wait to see them play.