Follow up your first round win in 19 years with a second round sweep. The Leafs are the gift that keeps on giving.
When I spoke of the curse of Harold Ballard I was hardly joking. His toxic and cheapskate managerial style saddled one of the most scrutinized sports franchises in the world with nearly two decades of legitimately horrible teams. It set a multi generational attitude towards this team that they were the absolute worst because they actually were. If not for the glimmer of the Gilmore years, we might even be talking about thirty years of fan frustration.
But at some point we need to recognize this just isn't about the failure of the team anymore. On paper, our team is as good as any in the league. We have the longest streak of making the playoffs of any team in the league. We have players who get scoring titles and we have a team, that even though definitely inconsistent, is basically a winning team. And yet the media in this city never stops beating up on them. They can win multiple games in a row, and if they have a poor showing in one, they pounce and start screaming everyone should be traded. And we, as fans, follow suit.
Because of the hockey climate in Toronto they have become a team repeatedly beaten down by press and fans, frequently when it isn't even remotely deserving. And like anyone who gets micromanaged at their job, it wears them down. And at the point, anything short of not only winning a Stanley Cup, but winning one handily, is considered an abject failure. It's an impossible city to play hockey in. At this point I think you could assemble any team you want, with whatever high quality coaching you can find, and they are still going to underperform.
And they have underperformed. No question. Especially in playoffs. And a lot of that is of course directly on them, as they are professionals and are definitely paid well to put up with this kind of pressure.
But it's also on us. And the media. Regardless of how understandable the culture of failure here has made us, we take it way too far. At this point, being a Leaf fan really means just waiting for the moments we can hate them, and making sure the team knows how much they deserve it. Even when they dont.
As for whether they get swept, I'm going to say very likely. But I also am one of those fans who believes they are entirely capable of clawing their way back. And while I'm not expecting that to happen, because it almost never does, they are still a good enough team to believe in that glimmer of hope. Otherwise, of course the prophecies of doom that permeate this city all season long are always going to be the only victoriously ones here