What's your level of interest next season?

[Rob Brown]

The regular season is going to be boring. They already finished first in the North and choked. Even finishing 1st in the Atlantic won't mean much.

I'd prefer to skip to the 1st round and see if they can do it this time around.

This is really it. In previous years there was always hope or a reason to be optimistic:

2017 post Caps series - exciting, young team that played well in the first playoff series with the young guys; future is bright!
2018 post Bruins series - played a really good team, took it to game 7; "learning experience"
2019 post Bruins series - better team pretty much all series, just need to get over that hump and close it out
2020 post Blue Jackets series - weird bubble season so hard to care much, most holes/problem areas addressed
2021 post Canadiens series - pain

I feel nothing now, really. The regular season will be more difficult with the Lightning, Panthers and Bruins, so it really comes down to the playoffs. Long way to wait to see if they can get their heads out of their asses.

 

[leaffaninvancouver]

We will all be back like the addicts we are. We can promise to swear it off, but we won’t. The team will likely still be a good regular season team and we’ll still watch. Hell most of us watched much worse teams, with much less hope.

 

[Racer88]

Just watching the Habs go toe to toe with Vegas. It makes me sick how much better the Habs are then the Leaf. None of that stupid curl back shit. It’s straight ahead then dump and chase. They usually come up with it on the forecheck.
In 40 years of cheering for the Leafs I have never felt this let down and been this disgusted with the team

never mind, the Habs now getting their asses kicked. Lol

 

[Ciao]

Anyone who is really not interested wouldn't be reading and posting here to begin with. They would have better things to do.

 

[TMLAM34]

They’re still my favourite team, I can’t cheer on anyone else. It’s just very unfortunate I don’t have high expectations left for this team, Dubas and the contracts have absolutely handcuffed us when this should have been our window of opportunity. And now that we’ll be returning to regular alignment, we’ll probably be challenging for a playoff spot to begin with while completely maxed out on the salary cap.

 

[Brown Dog]

They don’t love you back.

Yeah, maybe. But for me it's unconditional.

Do you think Red Sox fans didn't feel like walking away when every season ended in failure for years, for generations? When the team seemed cursed (literally, cursed!) to fail or when they seemed destined to finally succeed--only to inevitably fail again?

And no doubt some of those Red Sox fans did walk away. Maybe they came back when the team finally won in 2004. Maybe they didn't. But what a reward that championship must have been for the many more who stayed loyal, kept hoping, kept believing, kept supporting.

I hope I live long enough to see the Leafs climb their mountain and raise the Cup. It would be glorious. But it's not even about that, really.

I love this team and being part of the community of Leaf Nation. I love gathering with my family on a Saturday night with a pizza and you better believe the game is on. I even love staying up way too late on a Tuesday night to watch them on a west coast swing. I love debating what they should do at the trade deadline or in free agency or who they should draft. I love going to Montreal and seeing damn near as many blue jerseys in the crowd as red. I love going to a game in Ottawa in the heart of the Battle of Ontario years sporting my Leaf sweater (in a game where Ottawa was playing NYR) and proudly accepting the wrath of the Senators fans. I love teaching my son why we hate Kerry Fraser and Daniel Alfredsson and Brad Marchand. I love raising the Leafs flag in the backyard every time they clinch a playoff spot--even if it stings every time I have to pull it down again amidst the latest heartbreak.

Yeah, they break your heart. But I'll be damned if I'm going to walk away now or even dial it back. It might feel for a moment m the one who loses if I do that. Because when you love something the way I love this team, it's about committing to something wholeheartedly, even rabidly. Because if you insist on a certain payoff for all that devotion and suffering, you've missed the point.

 

[Stephen]

Yeah, maybe. But for me it's unconditional.

Do you think Red Sox fans didn't feel like walking away when every season ended in failure for years, for generations? When the team seemed cursed (literally, cursed!) to fail or when they seemed destined to finally succeed--only to inevitably fail again?

And no doubt some of those Red Sox fans did walk away. Maybe they came back when the team finally won in 2004. Maybe they didn't. But what a reward that championship must have been for the many more who stayed loyal, kept hoping, kept believing, kept supporting.

Well, for an 85 year championship drought, you'd have to be born in the right century to finally enjoy...

 

[TheGroceryStick]

Anyone who is really not interested wouldn't be reading and posting here to begin with. They would have better things to do.

I think a few of us are trying to talk ourselves outa stepping away.
Some days I think "screw this team" others I think "I ain't going anywhere"

I guess the sad part is ,hockey (specifically the Leafs) - has me thinking about them nearly every day. Haha though I'm more numb than rageful any more

 

[Seras]

I mean they were awful from 05 > 14, before Shanahan came this team was considered a joke by anyone other than leaf fans

If you made it through that, then you should be fine going forward

 

[Marshy]

Like most of the jilted fans I wondered how I could break free from this abusive relationship. I decided to keep the the TV off for game 7. If I could do that then I was in control, not the abuser.

Sure I'll follow them next year but after 40 years of faithfully following this team I'm not interested in investing emotionally and emptying the tank. Life's too short.

Earn back the loyalty...if they can.

 

[blue stick]

I was 5 when the Leafs won in ‘67. Don’t remember much other than B&W television and my dad and uncles jumping around. I hope to see them hoist another cup in my lifetime so will continue to watch and cheer for them.

 

[Curt]

None as long as marner is anchoring this team down

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

I'm 50 I've been a leaf fan my whole life. Unless there's changes to management or the core next season I won't watch. Where are you at?

I've stopped watching the regular season for three years now. It makes the playoff losses easier to bear when you haven't wasted 200+ hours your life that year.

 

[yubbers]

Anyone who is really not interested wouldn't be reading and posting here to begin with. They would have better things to do.

Oh there's always time to say I told ya so to Dubas homers

 

[Dangles McGavin]

I moved out to Seattle in January. I'll always be a Leafs fan first, but I have "half" season tickets for the Kraken next year - 22 home games. I don't have enough time to watch all the games for two teams, so I suspect I'll watch about 65% less than I did this season. Consistently missing Leafs games will be a weird feeling, but like others said, the regular season doesn't mean as much at this point.

 

[1specter]

Pretty low. I don't really have high hopes for this team with the cap crunch and also the way it is structured. I don't really believe in the coaching staff either.

I hope Dubas has some magic up his sleeve because if it's just status quo again I'll be spending little time watching games.

 

[1specter]

Anyone who is really not interested wouldn't be reading and posting here to begin with. They would have better things to do.

Not really true. HF has a community feel and ultimately it is a place to discuss and keep up with hockey as a whole, not just the Leafs. When you've been here for a while it just becomes habitual. I've posted here at times in the past where I wasn't watching much Leafs hockey.

 

[Sinkkunaattori]

Expectations are the enemy of fun in everything, think the Washington series season was the best to watch for a reason. Expecting things from others in general really doesn't pay off very often.
So I think I'll just try to enjoy the regular season for what it is and forget about the playoffs altogether. Every game after that is bonus time, and every goal to be just as wonderfully surprised as Marty Marincin was when he himself scored.

 

[saffronleaf]

Low. I'll watch the Leafs lose in the first round again. Beyond that, I'll watch a few regular season games here and there if I'm bored and have nothing to do. But definitely not going to intentionally clear space on my schedule for regular season Leafs games. Hopefully Dougie lets us go out again, need to do a lot of catch-up on socializing.

 

[saffronleaf]

This will be the biggest season for me as a fan of any sport.

The raptors' 2019 season wasn't as high pressured as this.
Jays all in seasons in 2015/2016 weren't as crazy as this.

The Shanaplan either shows advancement and results or it's a total decomposition of this organization with management, coaches, players, scouts, etc all being purged.

My excitement is there, I'm ready to be disappointed again. If they lose like bitches in the 1st round again, I will be 100% pro tank/rebuild and for us to never hire an inexperienced individual like Shanahan, Dubas, Keefe were for a managerial/coaching role ever again.

I feel like that high pressure year was this year. This is it. Enough.

 

[saffronleaf]

probably low if all the covid restrictions finally ease.

yea that's the wildcard.

who knows, Dougie might find some new sigma variant or some shit and lock us down for another year.

 

[darrylsittler27]

Like it or not a segment is turning off. I just watched the Vegas/ Montreal game. This Leaf team isn't even close and never were. Next year they will be weaker and the path much tougher.
I'd put money Kracken do better.

 

[saffronleaf]

Many of the answers given now will be much different come September.

 

[Acesup]

Hard to care. I'll never watch another game unless Marner is traded. Even then I still probably won't watch. In fact probably done watching hockey all together

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Still fairly high, but I guess it also depends on the offseason.

I think the players have lost all benefit of the doubt. Losing to Columbus was already somewhat on the fence but losing to Montreal after having a 3-1 lead is just pure incompetence on the part of the players first and foremost. Should have been able to do it without Muzzin and Tavares.

Keefe was not perfect, I guess there is always something the GM could have done better, and I guess you can always "try harder" but if they don't come out and perform after that kind of embarrassment, then the core is almost certainly getting dismantled next offseason (if it is not already done this offseason).