Your Team Probably Doesn’t Suck As Badly As the Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization was one of the original franchises in the National Hockey League long before the marketing concept of the “Original Six.” They’ve been around since 1927 as the Maple Leafs; before that, they were known as the Arenas (1917-19) and the St. Patricks (1919-27). They used to be good, having won 13 Stanley Cups. You can look it up.

It’s been a different story since 1967, when “Chief” George Armstrong lifted the Cup above his head at centre ice at the old Maple Leaf Gardens. From almost that moment onward, the Leafs have experienced a long, slow decline into the lower echelons of the North American professional team-sports landscape.

Now they’ve hit rock bottom. Confirmation of the Leafs’ suckage came in the form of the “Ultimate Standings” published last week in ESPN The Magazine. Out of 122 teams in the four major North American sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL) rated in the magazine’s list, the Leafs are dead last. By comparison, the Ottawa Senators ranked 42nd, the Winnipeg Jets 91st, the Vancouver Canucks 92nd, the Calgary Flames 106th, the Montreal Canadiens 111th, and the Edmonton Oilers 114th.

As hockey fans — and especially Leafs fans — know, it’s popular to knock the Blue and White as easy as it is to mock Toronto and its perceived status as the “Centre of the Canadian Universe.” But why are the Leafs so lousy? According to the list, the best rating the “Make-Believes” get in the eight categories is 114th for STX or Stadium Experience. They rate at the very bottom for BNG (Bang for the Buck) and AFF (Affordability), and second-last for PLA (Players: “effort on the field and likeability off it”) and TTR (Title Track).

There’s no doubt the PLA must improve; but while this linked article focuses on five who must get better, everyone on the club is in line for criticism. No one in the organization should get a pass, and that includes general manager Brian Burke.

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has appointed Tom Anselmi as its latest president and chief operating officer, and it will be up to him to figure out the way forward for the team. This report makes it clear that every aspect of the operation needs some sort of repair. Even winning on the ice won’t be enough: the Leafs were doing fairly well in the first few weeks of last season before they slumped so badly that Burke had to grudgingly fire Ron Wilson and hire Randy Carlyle as the new bench boss.

Leafs fans — and the haters — won’t be holding their breath waiting for the sun to shine on the Air Canada Centre anytime soon.