Monday, May 16, 2022

Stay the course or blow it all up? Debating the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with myself

So the Leafs lost. Again.

Another winner-take-all game, another season over. It’s both old hat, because this is what the Leafs do, and brand new, because no team in any sport has ever done this before. We all saw it coming, but we still hoped it wouldn’t. It’s weird to feel stunned by something you knew was inevitable, but that the conflict of being a Leaf fan.

I’m conflicted too, especially when it comes to the most important question: What now? What comes next for a team that’s failed so often but seems so close so success? Do you run it back? Blow it all up? Somewhere in between?

My head says you run it back. My rational side agrees with James and Jonas, who both made convincing cases that now isn’t the time to take a sledgehammer to the organization. Change will come, because this is the NHL and it always does, but firing a GM or a coach or a president who just helped deliver a 115-point team would be an overreaction. Sometimes two very good teams meet in the first round and one has to lose, and that’s it. Be smart, be logical, and keep as much of this crew together as you can.

My heart isn’t convinced. Actually, my heart is kind of sick of these guys. Sick of the excuses. Sick of the promises that next time will be different, always immediately followed by a promise that next time will also be the same because nothing will change. My heart has loved this team since I was a little kid, but can be pretty vindictive about the individual parts. My heart has run out of patience.

So which side is right? I honestly don’t know. So today I’m going to let the two sides fight it out, with a good old-fashioned stream-of-consciousness debate. This might help us get to the right answer. It also might just end up being a therapy session for a long-suffering fan. Either way, I hope you’ll indulge me.

Head vs. heart, with the future of the Maple Leafs on the line. Gentlemen, make your opening statements.

>> Read the full post at The Athletic

(Want to read this post on The Athletic for free? Sign up for a free trial.)




1 comment:

  1. FIRE Dubass and Keefe for starters, secondly get rid of Morgan Bobby Orr Rielly the softest , biggest give away machine in the league. Insanity doing the same thin over and over again and achieving the same result. Kind of like the leafs have doen for the las 6 years. To break the cycle get rid of rielly for starters.

    ReplyDelete