Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Should Still Mean Something

For the 764th time, the Toronto Maple Leafs will face-off against the Montreal Canadiens this Saturday night.

If you’re a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, does Saturday night and Hockey Night in Canada hit you the same way it used to?

Personally, Hockey Night in Canada doesn’t feel the same. Obviously, Don Cherry had to be taken off the air, but Coaches Corner with Cherry and MacLean was what made Saturday night so special.

You wanted to watch every first intermission broadcast because even if you didn’t agree with Cherry, you knew it was going to be entertaining.

Even when the Leafs were terrible, your Saturday night plans were set from 7:00-9:30PM and that anticipation was exciting. If you’re not religious and don’t go to church, Hockey Night in Canada with the Leafs was your church and when they didn’t play on Saturday, something didn’t feel right.

I think the NHL’s playoff-format has ruined my fandom because the Leafs have nothing to play for right now. You can say that they’re still playing for the No. 1 seed and/or home-ice advantage, but everyone knows they’re playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the First Round.

The only thing we don’t know is if Game 1 is going to be played in Tampa Bay or Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Habs Should Still Mean Something

The Leafs have played the Canadiens more than any other team in franchise history. As a result, Toronto vs. Montreal on a Saturday night should still have some juice.

Although Montreal is last in the Atlantic Division and Toronto is second best, we should still feel excited for this game. The rivalry should mean something and we should try to continue to hate the Habs for recently beating the Leafs in the playoffs two years ago.

However, as much as we should, I just can’t.

The regular season has become an afterthought and as long as the Leafs make the playoffs, these games that used to be “big match-ups” have been put to the side. Maybe, I’m in the minority with this thought, but I feel like a lot of the fanbase is just bored of this team.

They’ve become numb to regular season winning and only care what happens in the spring. Losing against the Canadiens on a Saturday night used to ruin people’s weekends, but now it doesn’t really matter because we know that Toronto is making the playoffs and will play Tampa Bay in the First Round.

You shouldn’t know what’s going to happen in professional sports, especially two months in advance. The beauty of sports is the unknown and seeing something unexpected happen. Also, the playoff push itself can sometimes more exciting than the playoffs.

For example, look at the Toronto Blue Jays season two years ago. The team basically played a playoff game every single day in September and it came down to Game 162 to determine whether or not they would make the post-season.

They ended up missing the playoffs by one win that year, but the regular season meant something and that run was incredibly fun to watch. It was arguably more fun than the playoff-run the team had one year later.

The NHL needs to change its rules and make the regular season more exciting because at this rate, they’re losing interest from a die-hard fan on a game that used to mean everything.