How bad is the morale of the fanbase right now?

[varano]

I remember watching Matthews four goals...
I remember seeing the upside of willy and Marner...
I remember watching the Tavares announcement.


My excitement this season is probably lower than the Burke years....

How are you feeling?

Click to read more...

 

[Apex Predator]

It’s really bad. There is a huge divide between leaf fans. This is no longer that passion that unites us all.

 

[TheGreatOne11]

It's the constant disappointment, the fact we have not improved in any way regardless of how good we look on paper, we're still the same team that can't get out of the first round.

I am actually blown away but you can actually see a crack in the Toronto Maple Leaf fan base right now, and I'm actually kind of proud, that we are no longer content following blindly and paying for a terrible product, they have treated us like a renewable resource for too long, and finally we are sick and tired, there are kinks in the armor.

I know I care less about this year than I did last year after that cowardly display in the playoffs, and personally I don't think our team on paper this year is as good as last years, I'm banking on the stars improving and having Tavares to help us get over that first round hump (not looking good so far).

So yes, I'm dejected, disappointed, angry, upset, I mean it's the same Leafs with different names on their jerseys, why can't we ever get a true leader? It's a joke at this point.

I'll continue to support my team but my hearts not in it like it used to be, I've never cared about being the laughingstock of the league but enough is enough, you got spanked 7-1 against an AHL team, that is David Aryes level pathetic.

If we don't get out of the first round this year I have zero issues blowing it all up, that is just too long, after this season we only have Matthews for two more years, let that sink in, pathetic.

 

[HomerJLeafs]

low as like when Dion was the C
i never got over the L vs the Habs
it was such a mind numbing soul crushing loss i just can not even
regular season is meaningless
yet imho they not gonna make the playoffs

 

[MR4]

I think a lot of the fanbase isn’t going to emotionally invest into this team until they win a series.

But even then, think it’ll be a while until feeling that level of excitement for the Leafs that I did as a kid.

 

[Buds17]

Can't speak for the fanbase. From my viewpoint only:

I remember the trips to the Conference Finals and the winning of a playoff round. This isn't that. I also remember the near decade long playoff misses only broken up by that playoff berth in the shortened season. This also isn't that.

 

[Zybalto]

Oddly enough, my morale for the fanbase itself has never been lower.

I mean, It's like watching the Leafs trying to sort out some roster turnover (I think the Ritchie on the first line experiment is probably over for example) and not playing too poorly and watching a collective baby tantrum from a large portion of the fanbase.

Yea, they lost badly last night on the 2nd end of a back to back on a travel-heavy road trip to a team that had beat Tampa 6-2 (in a statically much more one-sided game, an actual overall beat down). It not the end of the world. I'm big on the Pens this year myself.

Toronto is not gonna be a top ten team for shot/scoring chance differential and a .956 PDO team forever. Useless collective freakout but maybe we'll get lucky and some of the more toxic fans will actually stop watching before Toronto picks up the winning again.

 

[Coachcorner]

Can't speak for the fanbase. From my viewpoint only:

I remember the trips to the Conference Finals and the winning of a playoff round. This isn't that. I also remember the near decade long playoff misses only broken up by that playoff berth in the shortened season. This also isn't that.

That Pat Quinn team had heart and soul. Who stole the soul?
We should be thuggin it up and still eating that CAKE sire! WHAT!!!!!

 

[Buds17]

That Pat Quinn team had heart and soul. Who stole the soul?
We should be thuggin it up and still eating that CAKE sire! WHAT!!!!!

Quinn and Burns. I will say that those teams were more vet laden than the current edition of this squad.

 

[Leafshater67]

I just hate this team. To me, there’s no redeeming qualities. I feel like the core has major issues that never get looked at. There’s a ton of overpaid guys there who just don’t want to win bad enough

 

[saffronleaf]

low as like when Dion was the C
i never got over the L vs the Habs
it was such a mind numbing soul crushing loss i just can not even
regular season is meaningless
yet imho they not gonna make the playoffs

one of the greatest losses in hockey history. there is no way to forgive or forget. a complete purge should be considered.

they brought great shame to the entire city, and we had to watch the cn tower lit up in habs colors. complete humiliation.

 

[Clark4Ever]

It's starting to feel a bit like the end of the Kessel/Phaneuf/Lupul era. The difference is that this group has more potential, which makes it all the more disappointing.

 

[Stamkos4life]

I remember watching Matthews four goals...
I remember seeing the upside of willy and Marner...
I remember watching the Tavares announcement.


My excitement this season is probably lower than the Burke years....

How are you feeling?

When auston had his 4 goal game I thought I was dreaming.

This team was so promising. 2017 we took the leagues best team to a hard fought 6 game series. 2018 we took a strong bruins to game 7 and almost won.

That was the peak for this team.

Ever since dubas took over its been downhill. Lost to a jackets team that was missing 3 of its best players and then to the Habs in even more spectacular fashion.

#firedubas

 

[Menzinger]

Oddly enough, my morale for the fanbase itself has never been lower.

I mean, It's like watching the Leafs trying to sort out some roster turnover (I think the Ritchie on the first line experiment is probably over for example) and not playing too poorly and watching a collective baby tantrum from a large portion of the fanbase.

Yea, they lost badly last night on the 2nd end of a back to back on a travel-heavy road trip to a team that had beat Tampa 6-2 (in a statically much more one-sided game, an actual overall beat down). It not the end of the world. I'm big on the Pens this year myself.

Toronto is not gonna be a top ten team for shot/scoring chance differential and a .956 PDO team forever. Useless collective freakout but maybe we'll get lucky and some of the more toxic fans will actually stop watching before Toronto picks up the winning again.

It's definitely a period when an awful lot of people are venting on social media. The fact this has happened so early in the season after the disappointing playoffs certainly didn't help things

But rationally speaking, it's only a matter of time for that PDO to snap back to the norm for the team. It'll be curious to see what the mood is when they go on the seasons first winning streak

 

[Bronxxx]

Raptors then Jays and last the fallen leafs. Leafs empty seats for the rest of the season. Only that will get ownership to fire management.

 

[All Mod Cons]

The current management has driven a massive wedge in between the fanbase.

My morale is pretty much the same (give or take a tiny bit) as it's been for the last 24 months.

 

[saffronleaf]

It's the constant disappointment, the fact we have not improved in any way regardless of how good we look on paper, we're still the same team that can't get out of the first round.

I am actually blown away but you can actually see a crack in the Toronto Maple Leaf fan base right now, and I'm actually kind of proud, that we are no longer content following blindly and paying for a terrible product, they have treated us like a renewable resource for too long, and finally we are sick and tired, there are kinks in the armor.

I know I care less about this year than I did last year after that cowardly display in the playoffs, and personally I don't think our team on paper this year is as good as last years, I'm banking on the stars improving and having Tavares to help us get over that first round hump (not looking good so far).

So yes, I'm dejected, disappointed, angry, upset, I mean it's the same Leafs with different names on their jerseys, why can't we ever get a true leader? It's a joke at this point.

I'll continue to support my team but my hearts not in it like it used to be, I've never cared about being the laughingstock of the league but enough is enough, you got spanked 7-1 against an AHL team, that is David Aryes level pathetic.

If we don't get out of the first round this year I have zero issues blowing it all up, that is just too long, after this season we only have Matthews for two more years, let that sink in, pathetic.

It truly is remarkable.

This core and management managed to destroy the NHL's golden goose, the ever-loyal, always selling out, always happy to pay the highest prices, Leafs fanbase.

It will likely never come back. Once bitten twice shy.

Fortunately for the people of Toronto and unfortunately for the Leafs, superior products like the Raptors, Blue Jays, and FC are available to satisfy people's appetite for sports.

Very very few people in the newer generations care about the Leafs. Once the boomers go so will the Leafs, or at least their relevance in hockey and to the people of Toronto.

 

[HarryLime]

It's the worst by far since I started watching around 2001 when I was 7-8. I'll compare the era's of Leafs hockey to 3 kids

1st kid (early 00s teams)- Not the most naturally talented, but a relentless worker that gives their absolute best. They may have weaknesses but their core fundamentals make up for them and you love and respect them and root for them to succeed no matter what. They don't take nights off and if they come up short, you know they gave it their all. Teams that beat the Leafs from 99 to 04 paid a heavy price because it was going to war facing them back then.

2nd kid- (06-15)- They never really had a chance. Parents didn't care and shortcuts were taken to achieve quick results. Sad but you always knew they never had a chance as they were never raised.

3rd kid (16-present)- Insane natural talents that had everyone feeling lucky to have them. They had every resource available but whenever pushed they took it as criticism and it never lead to them improving areas you need to as a person. As time went on, they relied on their talents more and more, despite setbacks. . As time went on, they were never encouraged to develop skills you need to succeed in the sport because the people pushing for this were pushed out. Look at the Isles, you need to approach and play the game at least a little bit like it's hockey and not a skills competition. Coach that believed in those methods was removed for a coach that further enabled the kids doing what they want, because they're talented and will figure it out. Well it's been 5 years of the hot shot kid getting passed over in their career and it's not because they're not smart; it's because they have been enabled for so long and lack character. They didn't want to adapt and now it's reached a boiling point where it's probably too late. Just an absolute waste of time watching them waste the opportunity they were afforded.


So basically. We had a team that was never probably good enough to win a cup but they came close and gave so many memories that I still cherish. A team that never had a chance because they didn't have any structure, and now a team of spoiled brats. That's how I've seen it for over a year and every month it just solidifies that belief. Everyone wants marner gone now, but I was saying to do this over a year ago. He is not a hockey player. He's a skill guy that when things tighten up, he pisses his pants and gets stepped over. Instead of getting better and improving, he deflects blame, says it's no big deal and the cycle continues. I have hope for Matthews. I think Nylander is a great player that has weeded out bad habits, through constructive criticism. I like MO. I like Spezza. I think huge changes are needed to salvage anything we have left. It's hockey. You need grit. You need edge. We have one of the easiest teams to play against. We had guys like Kadri and Hyman that made it difficult for other teams physically or by being scrappy players that will get dirt on them to contribute any way they could. Well, we have a GM that doesn't think that's important. I would do everything in my power to move marner/tavares and fire dubas. These are players that just time and time again show me they ain't it, yet they take up well over 20 million per year. dubas is the worst of them all. He builds his team like an EA NHL GM. Watch 1 Islanders playoff series and then watch this cowardly bunch. It's hockey, not an arcade skill video game.

 

[Stephen]

It's starting to feel a bit like the end of the Kessel/Phaneuf/Lupul era. The difference is that this group has more potential, which makes it all the more disappointing.

I'm starting to think of this group as the NHL's answer to the OKC Thunder who squandered a core group of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook because they screwed up their cap with the Serge Ibaka signing (our equivalent is John Tavares). It's even ironic because Auston Matthews seems to be a big fan of Westbrook (as opposed to say, a winning player). Looks so good on paper but just so much wrong with the recipe.

I think all Leafs fans just want a team that works hard as a baseline, sticks up for each other when things get sticky and if they have that extra pop in elite talent, we'd be in business. The Shanaplan looked like it checked off all the boxes after the JFJ/Burke/Nonis Dark Ages. It looked like the right ingredients were starting to come together, maybe gelling slower than we want, but I think they're headed towards a dismantling.

Makes me think about the serious damage done to the Toronto Maple Leafs brand over the past few years. I joke about it, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the Leafs just folded up, tore down the Scotiabank Arena, built some condos on top of the site and we got an expansion team in a few years once the wounds heal. Start fresh with a new building in a different part of town, new colours, no heritage branding, not Original Six, nobody grew up dreaming of playing for, no baggage. Just a well run, competitive, modern team.

 

[Paradoc]

My hope and morale is at an all-time low as a 15 year-old leaf fan... just want to see my team win a playoff round at least.

 

[Racer88]

My morale reflects the teams performance. Play well, win games and show you are making meaningful strides instead off the same crap year after year and I will be jubilant.

 

[96]

My hope and morale is at an all-time low as a 15 year-old leaf fan... just want to see my team win a playoff round at least.

Hold on... You've been posting on HF since you were 8?

 

[TMLAM34]

This teams shit. I’ll leave it at that.

 

[ULF_55]

A blip.

Live in the moment, but don't lose sight of the future nor past.

 

[123offtheglass]

I feel better knowing my favorite teams outside of the Leafs have been very successful. Favorite NBA teams won 2 of the last 3 years as somewhat underdogs (Milwaukee Bucks & Toronto Raptors), Italy won the Eurocup, & Canada was very successful at the summer games, & are likely to be at the winter games. 2nd favorite NHL team (Penguins) have won the cup 3 times in the last decade or so... it's just these damn Leafs. Hurts more knowing they've had so much potential and have for the most part underperformed when it's mattered most, not even getting through a round; each one hurts more than the last, but especially the last one.

I think a big turnaround with this group (mainly the core, Dubas & Keefe) is possible but doubtful; leadership will be the biggest factor (I doubtful of that aspect, but I hope to be proven wrong). They have too much talent to be written off for a rebuild; my hope as a fan is that they make progressive steps this year & become a strong contender next year, wherever that gets them.

Don't think many thought things would play out they way they have so far, the back of my mind tells me this team/group hit it's peak prior to the Habs series, I hope that isn't true. They definitely have a lot of potential to be better but my expectations are low.

 

[freshwind]

anger has turned to apathy ........ and that does not bode well for the organization if it spreads too much .......

and i remember cup wins so i've done my time as a leaf fan ...

i find i cannot even get up for the games these days ... it is on the idiot box but then i think - who is the idiot LOL