Leafs Continue to Leaf

Maybe it’s the snowscape that I’m currently trapped in? Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a lone Oakland Los Angeles Oakland Las Vegas Raiders’ fan living in New England where the Patriots are going back to the Super Bowl? Maybe it’s that the Boston Bruins are playing well above what was predicted and there’s no real gripe to have with the local team here in the Hub of Hockey? 

Maybe the Maple Leafs are just too pathetic to ignore?
You mean the NHL team that is the “center of the hockey universe”…
The NHL team that has more media coverage and publicity than any other team in the league…
The NHL team that has “the face of US born hockey players” as it’s captain…

That team? Yup, the team that gave the world Wendel Clark, Dougie Gilmour and Mats Sundin is currently 2pts out of last place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are currently 6 points out of the Wild Card with a payroll of what again?

Per Puckpedia they are currently -$149,511 in the hole with the salary cap, with 2 players eating up $24.75M. 

That seems like a lot for a little. The Captain of this squad, Auston Matthews currently sits at 25-17-42 in 46GP. Pretty good I guess? I took about 5mins looking for comps to see how he’s doing so far this season…

Matthews: 25-17-42 in 46GP with a cap hit of $13,250,000
Player A: 29-19-48 in 52GP with a cap hit of $5,500,000
Player B: 16-43-59 in 52GP with a cap hit of $7,875,000
Player C: 18-40-58 in 51GP with a cap hit of $8,075,000

Who would you want? Let’s also be clear that none of the other players listed above ducked out of interviews (both before and after the game) when his best buddy Mitch Marner made his return to Toronto as a member of the Las Vegas Golden Knights (TOR lost 6-3). That’s the leadership you for sure want leading Team USA into battle at the Olympics next month.

Those other players listed?

Player A: That’s BOS Morgan Geekie – signed for another 5 years: 27 years old

Player B: That’s MTL Nick Suzuki – signed for another 4 years: 26 years old

Player C: That’s DET Lucas Raymond – signed for another 6 years: 23 years old

Not exactly household names outside of their own homes. But your guy? He’s still got another 2 years at $13,250,000 at 28 years old.

But at least he brings the effort night and night out. Right?????

Leafs Nation come get your boy.

That all would be enough to warm the cockles of my inner hating heart. But no, the Leafs keep giving us more. At least William Nylander is earning his paycheck. He’s currently at 17-31-48 in only 37GP due to injury. At least while he’s on IR, Nylander is putting in the work. Doing whatever he can to help the team I’m sure. Not causing any disturbance or doing anything to whip the Toronto media into a frenzy…

That’s a quick $5K fine and let’s keep it moving. Even as an avowed Leafs-hater, I respect Nylander’s game. Maybe not his timing to flip media the bird, but the guy can play.

Well at least they have a firm hand on the rudder. A stalwart coach in Craig Berube, who’s running the ship safely amongst all these rocky waters. Doing the work, putting in the time and putting out fires. He’s not raising any eyebrows and is a true professional.

But what.. what the actual fuck is going on here???

Apparently Berube was attacked by a shark fought a grizzly bear had some type of weight room mishap (let that be a lesson to all the kids out there, you should always avoid the weight room). Berube has also been dropping the boom on the players along with his weights on his dome. Just yesterday (1/26/26) Brock Nelson dropped 2 on the Leafs in the span of less than 2mins in the first period causing Berube to call a timeout to (checks notes) “emphasize the importance of cheering for one’s teammates”. Per Jesse Blake of SDPN Sports: “Right now, it’s quiet and that’s not going to help. You gotta cheer for your teammate. You gotta have energy no matter what the situation.” 

Holy schnikes Leaf Nation, Berube is coaching how to be a good teammate? 

Look I sincerely hope this never gets fixed. I love seeing this idiocy and selfish behavior coming from the Toronto Maple Leafs.  

It’s shit like this that makes the Bruins’ front office more palpable. 

Keep it up Toronto, at least Matthews is still cashing those checks.  

You can read more about Brownie in his bio below or follow him on:
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Author: Brownie

A legacy that was born on the frozen rivers in Northern Saskatchewan then forged on the ponds of New England. Always living by the credo handed down by generations of beer-league beauties that came before him. Skate Hard - Quick Changes - Win the Parking Lot.

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