Photo Credit: Maple Leafs Hotstove, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
This is all Shanahan's fault
As everyone who has so much as mayonnaise for brain matter knows, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been first round losers a record breaking six years straight.
Rather than shake things up on the roster, the Toronto Maple Leafs President of hockey operations (for now), Brendan Shanahan, and general manager (for now), Kyle Dubas, decided to run it all back again this year.
Barring another major trade, the team that wasn't good enough the last six years is entering the playoffs with essentially the same roster that lost to Montreal.
And fans are expected to be jubilant about it.
I'm Getting Real Tired Of The Losing Shanahan.
Everyone who claims themselves as a fan of the team should be.
If I'm saying it, I can just imagine what the season ticket holders must be saying.
Or Rogers and Bell, who would undoubtedly love to cash in on some playoffs revenue from both the box office and viewership.
Nothing better than lining billionaires pockets in order to pay millionaire's to play a game.
All that money and talent. Spent. Wasted. Like the majority of my life.
Nothing to show for it all.
Laid Back And Lackadaisical
This current version of the team reminds me of a pot smoking slacker - uninterested, uninvested, and complacent.
Nobody, outside the goalie coach, has been held to any semblance of accountability.
Players like Nylander, the very embodiment of lazy and soft, are not only still on the team, but given more leash than their behaviour deserves.
Their attitude not only condoned, but rewarded.
Loser Mentality
Top to bottom this entire organization is complacent with losing.
Seeing Nylander laughing with the press after they were eliminated, joking about rumours of him getting traded, about how the team is SLOWLY learning what it takes to win, was difficult to watch.
This team is getting harder and harder to cheer for.
Once again they did nothing to make the fans think there is any reason for them to do any better than they have the last six years.
You can thank Shanahan for that.
His team, his fault.