Also I find it incredibly stupid that as a Leafs fan I have to automatically hate the Habs. Don't get me wrong I don't like them, but hate? We havent had a meaningful series against the Habs in the last 20+ years of me being a fan of the Leafs.
Rivalries and hate are created in the playoffs, regular season is rather meaningless. Till then it will be hard for me to generate the hate and vitriol that you old timers have.
the Habs were more hated in the 70's when they won 7 cups, they were like the Yankees of baseball, for the last 36 years, they lost their dominance and are no better than any other team, in fact many years they were worse. That's why the hatred for them isn't as strong as it was in the 70's.