Toronto Maple Leafs Playoffs More Special Than Usual

The Toronto Maple Leafs are icing the best team in franchise history.

Well, as far as I’m concerned anyways.  The Toronto Maple Leafs best years as a team all came twenty, thirty or fifty years before I was born and were in a league with only six teams.  No offense to those teams, but as a Leafs fan, I’ve been forced to live in the past long enough and am fully embracing this year’s team as my own.

And besides being the best, I think this team is the most special because of the circumstances.

The role that sports has played in this pandemic is fraught with complication.  On one hand, the risks are high, and the resources used to host bubble tournaments or keep the league going this year could arguably have been used to help society more.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL in the Pandemic

However, I think that for millions of people the NHL (and other sports leagues) have provided a much needed respite from the horror. ( I for one have actually started watching the games *that’s a joke for my boys in the comments section*).

Seriously though, I’ve spent the last year socializing only with the five people who live in my house and I’ve been laid off from work three times.  If not for the NHL schedule, time would be a formless blob without meaning.  Now, I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining, because compared to most people, my situation is pretty good – optimal even.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t miss things or get down about being cooped up.  And it’s when I feel like that that hockey helps most.

I’ve watched – I don’t know – what, 60 or so Leafs games since last March, and I’ve watched every single one of them with just my eight year old son for company, and we’ve had a blast.  While I do miss watching games sometimes in a big group, watching hockey with an eight year old is one of the best things you can do.

For example, if you think you’re a big Leafs fan, he was almost in tears over losing nine seconds into overtime last night.  He gets more pumped for a fifth goal in a blowout than most people would for an overtime win.  And he remembers everything – just shooting off obscure references that I think have to be made up, but every time I look them up, they’re true.

I watch the games with him and I don’t even really notice there are no fans in the seats. I don’t miss watching games with my friends.  I mean, if I’m out of the room he knows to reach for the remote if Dave Poulin starts talking – you can’t beat that.

Today, Steve wrote a piece about how the Playoffs just aren’t as meaningful to him this year, and I can dig that. For people who want to go to bars or to parades, that is probably a common feeling. But for me, I think they’re more meaningful than ever.  The players are sacrificing to be here. The NHL has brought a level of normalcy, entertainment and distraction to my life that I am extremely grateful for.

Add in the fact that this is the best Leafs team we’ve ever seen, and….well, I really don’t have the writing ability to describe just what this means to me.  It’s probably a bit stupid, cheesy and overthetop if we’re being honest.  Whatever. In my not-at-all humble opinion, this has been a fantastic season and pandemic or not, I am just as excited for the Leafs upcoming playoff run as ever.