The Toronto Maple Leafs
If you look on my “to-do page” you will see a list of things I will hopefully complete before I die. There are a lot of things on it and quite a few checked off but do down the list a little bit and you’ll see #7. It’s like a curse. Something that gives me and others a chuckle. But it does deserve to be on my list.
It’s something I want to see…so laugh all you want. Whatever.
You can’t say anything I haven’t heard 1,000,000+ times before. I will still be a “make beliefs” fan. It’s like water off a ducks back. I won’t cheer for the French Toiletseats. I definitely will never cheer for the Senaturds. You may find me cheering for the Canucks, or Oilers, or Flames when the Leafs are out and if Detroit is out. But I’ll never cheer for those other 2 Canadian teams! š
Most of my friends are either Habs or Senator fans and man, it’s brutal. If I got a dime every time for hearing “we were the last team to bring the cup to Canada” or “we have the most Stanley Cup wins” I’d be a millionaire. Uh, who cares. Seriously. The Senators have been waiting 8o years for their cup if you want to get technical. I argue current stats and events, not things that happened over 10 years ago. What good does that do ANY of us!?!? (lol)
If the Leafs can stay healthy/injury-free I think they will really go places. Being healthy could overcome the constant penalties the Leafs get called for. They somehow became known for getting a lot of penalties by the Refs and man, they are unrelenting. Oh well. Just another obstacle. They need to work on their penalty kill anyways. :p
I took a lot of heat last season for being a Leafs fan. But at least we weren’t kidding ourselves, we knew there was a big possibility of not making the playoffs. Unlike the Hab fans who “always have a chance.” However, at least we admitted it to ourselves from day one. Right after training camp Paul Maurice went on the record to say “that Toronto would be in a dogfight to make the playoffs” and he was right. They missed the playoffs by one point for the second year in a row.
This year after training camp he went on the record to say “We’ll make the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup…….this will be the most talented hockey team I’ve ever coached.” But this is if health remains. Many others will laugh but I think it could be the case with the acquistions over the summer and the conditioning they put Raycroft through this summer (white pucks) and the overall conditioning of the team in the offseason. Hopefully they’ll be a presence on the ice and stay out of penalty trouble.
But think about this… the Leas were good enough (offensively) to win the Stanley Cup last year. They scored as many goals as Anaheim and were in the top 10. Nothing to complain about there. The goaltending will hopefully improve, even though Raycroft had a record-setting amount of wins for the Leafs he was ranked one of the lowest in the NHL. Having someone to fight him for number 1 should do the team good. Keep both of them on their toes.
Almost all, if not all of the analysts I’ve watched/read don’t think TO is going to make it. However, Don Cherry does. He firmly believes they will make it. I believe him. He called Anaheim last year. He knows what he’s talking about (for the most part). Montreal/Toronto first round would be pretty intense. What do you think about that?!? (lol)
Also, I want to go on the record to say that if the Leafs somehow manage to do well and make the playoffs and all that jazz, it’s not going to “count.” It’s going to be like it never happened. Chris and more specifically Dane will deny it happened. I can hear it now, “nope. Never happened. I didn’t see it so it’s not true.” That’s why I think they might do well…hahahahaha
So here’s to another hockey season. Here’s to another Hockey Night in Canada. Hopefully it’s a great season….I want to see a race!
One Comment
Dad
You will never be alone Laura. I’ll be with you all the way on this!Out of 30 teams, The leafs still have the 2nd most cups! ‘nuf said!