The Toronto Maple Leafs Gave Their All During a Pandemic

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a chance until the final week of last season to win their first President’s Trophy in team history.

The Toronto Maple Leafs might have finished sixth overall, 2.5 games back of the 1st place Avs *(baseball scoring makes it sound better!) but they did win their division.

And no matter what people would have you believe,  their division wasn’t significantly easier than any of the other three.  The Leafs entered the playoffs as one of the biggest statistical favorites (80% win probability) since computer modeling has been able to run simulations.

They had the leading goal scorer, the leading 5v5 goal scorer, the fourth and fifth highest point totals, a goalie who may have won the Vezina if he played another ten games, and one of the deepest, most exciting teams in hockey.

One with two of the top five players in the NHL (one of whom is better than the consensus #3 was at the same age), a  young, exciting coach, and a young exciting GM whose vision sparkles compared to the dinosaurs who usually run hockey teams.

The NHL’s best young team is on the verge of winning the city’s first Stanley Cup in years and yet all I hear are complaints.  It reminds me so much of our current smart-phone, instant-access no-attention-span society that it honestly makes me a bit sick.

This team gave their all through two very difficult years, and all I hear is whining about how the regular season doesn’t matter, how the team has failed, and just generally more negativity than should be possible about a hockey team. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs Deserve Better

So the Leafs let you down.  Who cares? Didn’t you ever learn about the romance of being a Die Hard Fan? Didn’t you ever learn about loyalty, or the fact that losing just makes winning sweeter?

I mean, I wish the Leafs beat Montreal amore than anyone – but I maintain my positive attitude because I don’t think they owe me anything.  I think they did their best under difficult circumstances (they played through a pandemic, risking their health and livelihoods, for our entertainment, and they distracted us through some tough times) and I don’t see a single thing worth complaining about.

Yes, the team didn’t get the results they wanted, or that we wanted. But their two back-to-back multi-goal third period comebacks in the playoffs prove they are a team that never gives up.  John Tavares – who makes $11 million dollars per year – didn’t play.  We write about 50 articles every time the team changes fourth liners, so I think Tavares probably makes a difference in a seven game series ultimately decided by one goal.

They didn’t have Jake Muzzin, either.  And, they even lost a game where they outshot the Habs 12-1 in OT where the winning goal game on a 50 foot floater resulting from an uncalled headshot.

I just think it’s so spoiled and whiny to hate this team, or to even be frustrated with them.  Yeah yeah, FIVE STRAIGHT FIRST ROUND EXITS, I get it.  But remember, three of those featured a rookie filled team with no business in the playoffs, all three of which almost upset a Legacy Team.

In the proper context, there is nothing to be upset about.  This team lost two series they deserved to win over 12 games, nine months apart during a pandemic, while missing key players the whole time.  Get over it.

Breaking Up the Article With Another Headline!

The last two losses have been bummers, sure.  But results are funny in the short-term. That is a universal truth about everything, not just hockey.  In 11 straight playoff games the Toronto Maple Leafs have finished with a positive expected goal rating, and that means they played in such a way as to “deserve” to win every game.  (all stats naturalstattrick.com).

Any reasonably cogent person should be able to look at that and realize, when combined with the injuries (and the four comebacks; two per series) that this team left it all on the ice (during a pandemic) and was prevented from losing by a combination of events that just amount to bad luck. (And just for the record, there is no bigger indicator of future success then losing by the skin of your teeth due to a bad performance from regularly reliable superstar players).

The 50 years of failing to win the Stanley Cup have nothing to do with this version of the team.  While the results have been terrible, I think the team’s overall effort level has been unimpeachable, and they are a team obviously primed for success.  Toronto is supposed to be the centre of the hockey universe, and we are supposed to be a sophisticated fanbase.

The fan reaction to the Toronto Maple Leafs probably isn’t as bad as it seems.  It’s embarrassing, and it should be better, but we have to remember we live in an era when the worst people are able to yell the loudest, and the sane people barely even participate in it.

I’d like to think if you drown out the noise of a minority of fans making the most noise, that you’d realize that most fans are smart enough to see how good this team is, and how good they’ve been.

I would like to think that most Leafs fans are thankful for what this team gave them during two very difficult pandemic seasons, and that they understand the nearly random nature of the outcome of hockey games.  This team is hard working,  stacked to the rafters with talent, and run by one of the best minds in the game.

They are on the verge of winning a Stanley Cup and I implore everyone to enjoy the ride, not just the end result.  This is a team with two Hart Trophy candidates, and one of the deepest, most exciting rosters in the cap era.

I can’t say how much the distraction of sports – specifically the Toronto Maple Leafs – has helped me cope during these last 18 months, and I have no doubt they will continue to do so.  I am sorry the team didn’t win, but they entertained and thrilled me for an entire six months, and I just think it’s kind of crappy to forget all that and be obsessed with results.

But I don’t wanna tell you how to think. These are just my thoughts, and I’m just one guy screaming into a hurricane.  You dig the team however you want to, but all I’m saying is we’d all be better off if we didn’t obsess with end results.  Go Leafs!