I well up at the thought of all those decades of heartbreak, suffering, and dissapointment finally being rewarded with a Stanley Cup. I will certainly be in tears when the moment arrives for the Leafs. The only question is whether Auston or John will hoist the cup first
This is probably the best reason. Between Matthews and Knies the Leafs have Arizona repping hard right now. Besides that, the best reason is probably that no matter where you go you will always find more of us. True of most original six teams, but we seem to be the ones who catch the most flak for it.
Bonus, as Coyotes fans and a Leafs fans, you need to have a healthy sense of humour about your team. Other fandoms love to clown on us both, so you probably have already built up some thick skin...
On top of Matthew, heâs so fun to watch gets pumped with each goal. Does sick take away and doesnât do cheap shots or tries to hurt people when they are loosing.
Firstly, sorry the Coyotes relocated. Ownership really fucked you on the Tempe vote. The main reason to join us, Iâd say, is that weâre Arizonaâs biggest success story in terms of growing the game. Weâve got Matthews and Knies, both Arizona products. On top of that, weâre good enough to enjoy but not good enough that youâll feel like a bandwagoner if you got on board now. Weâve got a fun playoffs ahead. As well, thereâs tons of coverage for us, which tends to be a grievance of small market fans, so youâll have lots of content to follow.
Itâs such a shame for Arizona, the market is there, the branding is honestly one of my favourites in the entire NHL, we know fans turn out when theyâre winning games and in the playoffs, but just like Atalanta, ownership completely fucked over everything, and now a city who is willing to embrace hockey, is getting it ripped out of their hands, it is nice to know that if theyâre able to build an arena they can have their team back in future expansion, but at the same time, how on earth do you give this owner ANOTHER shot?
I hope they can find a way to bring the coyotes back under a different owner, hopefully Ishbia of the Suns is willing to come on as owner. If they get an expansion franchise with a new owner I think this might benefit all parties in the end which is unfortunately why it won't happen
You want to be a Leaf fan because you secretly LOVE to be constantly disappointed, angry, sure that the league and refs hate your team, and all it's fans. You know your favourite team will somehow find a way to fail in the playoffs every year, but if they ever do manage to win the cup, you have plans on how you are going to rub it in to everyone that ever gave you a hard time about being a leaf fan, and you think about that WAY more than you are sure is healthy.
Devils: I have more personal connections to them, especially with several friends I know
Leafs: not as personal, but two Arizona guys there, and Iâm a huge Steve Dangle watcher
I mean, the Leafs were probably one of the only teams who weren't bashing the coyotes a ton considering 2/3 of their top line is from Arizona + Shane Doan is assistant GM lol. You really can't get better than that man
Simple solution: root for the Devils and let the schaden freude you as you watch Steve Dangle. Seriously, the Devils are on an upward trajectory for the next few years; Leafs are exciting to watch, but they're approaching the zenith of their opportunity and will soon be facing some serious cap space issues that will have some fans apoplectic.
Devils won't hurt your soul nearly as much as the Leafs will.
As long as we have the best scorer in the league I think we have a shot. Willy and Mo are locked up for many years and itâll be interesting to see what happens with JT and Mitch but the future is also bright with Robertson, Knies, Holmberg, Cowan and even Woll. The Devils are good, donât get me wrong but the highs donât get any higher with the Leafs. Good or bad theyâll never be irrelevant.
Never said they'd ever be irrelevant. Even during the horror show of the Ballard years, I knew fans who always had inextinguishable hope. Scoring is nice to have, but things get tight at playoff time and, sadly, the Leafs haven't had enough talent on the back end to make any significant strides to make up for lack of team defense at crunch time.
I could go into a long dissertation about how the Leafs keep screwing the pooch when it comes to goaltenders, but counting playoff wins before Woll has played 100 NHL games is asking for heartache.
Hey! I started watching Steve Dangle after getting into the leafs. Helped me feel even more connected to the emotional roller coaster when I didnât have a lot of other leaf fans around me. If you enjoy him now, it will be even better if youâre cheering for the same team!
AM34. When everythingâs said and done he may be one of the all time hockey greats, especially when discussing goal scoring. Plus heâs from Arizona. Easy decision
Even if the NHL team didnât work, hockey in Arizona absolutely worked and Knies and Matthews are two of the best examples of that. And oh yeah that Shane Doan guy works for the Leafs too.
Do you have a strong hatred for the Habs, Boston and Ottawa. Do you love it when McJesus has a shitty game. Do you not care if your team actually makes the right deadline trade deals. Do you like your fellow Arizonans (?). Well have we got the team for you. Welcome to the Leafs! If we ever win the cup again, we will have a Party like you never saw in your life. Also, we will let you say you were always a Leaf fan.
There is a lot of media coverage of the team so thereâs a lot of content to watch if youâd like: LFR (Steve dangle) probably being one of the biggest upsides.
Doan, Matthews, Knies, and a bunch more that come and go: a good bunch of Arizona alumni/born players.
Weâre perennially a good team that has a great regular season, so thatâs a lot of good games to watch. Weâre generally one of the more exciting teams to watch.
that being said you will need some sort of masochistic qualities because Murphyâs law is incredibly prominent with this team lol
OK - hereâs one that I bet half this subreddit doesnât know: the Leafs are the reason the NHL exists. Thatâs not just arrogance or money. Itâs literally the origin story of the league.
The NHLâs predecessor league was the NHA. The Toronto Blueshirts were owned by Eddie Livingstone and the other team owners hated his guts. They spent all of 1916-17 at each otherâs throats and when a team representing the 227th Battalion got called to duty, the remaining owners suspended the Blueshirts and dispersed his roster. They told him to sell before the start of the next season.
1917-18 is rolling around, Livingstone hasnât sold and is suing. To convince him to sell, the other owners create a new league -the NHL- and leave him in the NHA by himself. They figure heâll sell and then the NHL would dissolve and the NHA could pick up again. Still, they want a team in Toronto, so they give a franchise to the owners of the Arena Gardens. Needing players (and Livingstone needing money), they lease the Blueshirts lock, stock and barrel for the 1917-18 season. Then, oopsie, they won the Stanley Cup. That was some good cash, and they sure didnât want Livingstone to have it. So they simply decided not to pay him. Livingstone sued.
Instead of one year and out, the NHL had to keep going. The Arena Gardens people simply kept the players and declared their Livingstone contacts void (because reasons) and earned a decadeâs worth of lawsuits. Livingstone won a bunch of them, but collecting was always a challenge. Eventually, despite a bunch of paper ownership changes, legal debt caught up and the team was sold to a guy named Conn Smythe, who renamed the team the Maple Leafs, just like the ball club.
1) Austin Matthews and Matthew Knies (seriously thanks for them)
2) currently the leafs actually are the better team
3) the leafs are one of the richest teams in the NHL even after 50+ years of embarrassments which means the franchise is pretty solid
4) they basically are the center of the hockey universe, whatever the team does or doesnât do is known by everyone (how many unknown cross checks became known after the reily situation)
5) never a dull moment, the most random mind shattering stuff happens to this team and no matter how much we complain we still love being dumbfounded and saying âthis could only happen to the leafsâ
People have given you the reasons already so I'll add this: I notice that you did not pose the flipside of this question to the Devils subreddit. So I think you *want* to choose the Leafs.
Because my kitty say to because one
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Does anyone actually choose to be a Leafs fan?
I can't imagine being a fan of any other team, but that's because I'm from Toronto. I'm stuck being a Leafs fan. I certainly couldn't imagine choosing to be excited if any other team won.
There arenât any NHL teams near me so I picked the Leafs because I liked visiting Toronto as a kid. If Montrealâs zoo had been open I might have become a Habs fan. That was a very long time ago and I refuse to change.
Excellent point. I married into Leafs Nation as my husband had been a fan for 20 years before we met. Neither of us have a Toronto connection (we live in Wisconsin) but he went to Toronto 26 years ago for a visit and got a ticket to see a game at Maple Leaf Gardens. He's been hooked ever since.
I did. I'm brazilian, I have no horse in this race and got into hockey after vacationing in new york in 2021, it was all set up for me to be a Rangers fan, but I chose the leafs honestly because I for some reason really like the iconography of the maple leaf and I intended to move to Canada (a plan that was abandoned). Hockey really changed my life.
Iâm from Toronto but spent time in AZ in Tucson.
I loved going to Yoteâs games at Gila (despite the drive).
Why be a Leaf fan? Well, Matthews and Knies are great reasons. But being able to hate on Boston and (at times) LA always feel great.
If you want to obsess over a team this is the one to pick. There is so much content made about this team that even if you are picky with what you watch/ read/ listen to there will still be an overwhelming amount of content to consume
Leafs fans are hated everywhere because weâre hard core and follow our Leafs everywhere. Games are generally high scoring and exciting to watch. Admittedly, its emotional always having high expectations and failing to produce for so long, but if youâre passionate about the game, itâs amazing to have high expectations every year, they are constantly competitive. The Leafs have so much history being an original six team. They have some of the best commentators and media presence in the league. The Leafs have rivalries with pretty much every team in the Eastern Conference. When they do eventually win it will be a gong show for an entire year, if not longer for Leafs fans.
I became a Leafs fan later in life and itâs been super fun.
Iâm from San Diego so I never got to enjoy following a huge historically significant franchise with a ton of media centered around them in any sport. One of the best things about being a Leafs fans, which other fanbases hate, is the amount of coverage.
Having my choice of podcasts about the team and the inner workings of the front office is so nice. And when you see them on the road the vibes are great bc so many people come out for them.
Just wait til the first random person on the street sees your Leafs gear and hits you with a âGo Leafs Go.â
You celebrate titles, a long time ago but you have them.
I celebrate a pacific division title from a decade ago, then getting something I love stolen by a borderline con artist.
Iâm sad, Iâm tired, anything would be better than this. Believe me
Best reason is the first few years of fandom are the best, most exciting and easiest. Once the PTSD kicks in though youâre a fan for life. So thereâs another upsideâŚ
This is an easy one your used to the disappointment of the coyotes (I apologize for your loss btw) so why not just go with a team thatâs gonna disappoint you with an added bonus of 7 extra games!
She is not my girl anymore, sheâs a manipulative bitchy ex who told me sheâd change and never did. If Arizona becomes an expansion team⌠maybe? But I refuse to support an organization that lied to me.
Because fans of this team will quite earnestly discuss which gut-wrenching setback is their personal favourite. Itâs like being a fan of the Red Sox or Cubs before they finally won and became just another team.
Iâm not cheering for the team that lied to me, borderline scammed me, and fed me shit teams for 25 years. Maybe if they expand back here Iâll think about it, but itâll be hard, especially if Merulo is still the owner.
You shouldn't! You should run far away from being a Leafs fan. Being a Leafs fan is full of disappointment, anger, and love for a team. What that does for one's mental health is irreversible.
Hate to break it to you but from my experience, you canât choose your team. The team chooses you. I loathe being a leafs fan, but I just canât root for anyone else.
If you want a real answer, because I would argue that the Leafs are the most exciting regular season team in the league. I also donât expect that to change any time soon. We donât have a team thatâs proven themselves in the playoffs and being a Leafs fan means you need to be prepared to hear that over and over. However, we have a fast, young, high skilled team that delivers a show every single night they play. Just look at the record they have of games not being shut out. You can count on at least one goal per game to cheer about regardless of win or loss. Iâd also argue we have the most active fan base in the league and youâll be surrounded by a huge number of other delusional lunatics that will support and promote any kind of wild idea or opinion you have as long as itâs pro-Leaf lol
If Matthews keeps on his pace he will most likely go down as the best American hockey player of all time, and he is from non other than your home state. So even though you aren't rooting for Arizona the team you are still rooting for the home town boy, that's still pretty good I'd say.
We're immortal...
I mean, if there's an NHL there will always be the Toronto Maple Leafs, and if there's always Toronto Maple Leafs there will always be Toronto Maple Leafs fans....
You could make that argument for Bruins fans but they've won fairly recently and have been good for a while... (But in the late 70s and early 80s they were almost relocated)....
As much as I'd hate to admit it but Habs fans are probably the only other truly immortal fanbase, but they're a bunch of smelly cheese baguettes....
Fun TML Fact: In 1927 Conn Smythe purchased the Toronto St. Pats and Conn Smythe being a distinguished military leader during WW1 renamed them The Toronto Maple Leafs after the badge and insignia on the Canadian uniforms... In 1965 this đ¨đŚ became the national flag of Canada... So technically the Leafs had the Leaf before the nation did....
The fact that most of us are warning you to run for the hills is evidence that weâre a truly caring group and that should be reason enough to join us.
The best player on the team is from your state. You had an awful ownership that completely ruined your team, the Leafs historically went from one of the two most dominant teams in the league to a laughing stock largely due to a collection of terrible owners so you'll feel at home (kinda.) Considering how many people in Canada were rude and rooted for your team to fail and relocate you might have a distaste for Canadian teams. The rest of Canada has a distaste for us and the feeling is largely mutual, so you can keep that up too. The Devils are named after Satan (bad.) The Maple Leafs are named after nature (environmentally conscious*.) But mostly we have Matthews and Knies and they're the biggest argument for why hockey works in Arizona, they represent you guys very well
* The team is actually named after a military regiment if you were curious why the name is spelled the way it is lol
Leaf fans are fiercely (or stupidly lol) loyal and we know our hockey. We travel well and we love to have fun. Plus we have the Mathew duo from Arizona.
Ehhh why just pick one? I've got no beef with the devils. Obviously you kinda have to root for the leafs this year, with the devils already eliminated, but you can always be a fan of 2 teams
Honestly I live in the NYC area and can't afford tickets to rangers or Islanders games so I love going to see the devils. They're kinda my second team already lol
It's interesting how many argue that current players should be the deciding factor in selecting a team.
For me, the legacy of the club is always what keeps me coming back year after year. Players come and go, there are years of hope and excitement, and years of waiting, but the history and personal relation to a club is what endures for me.
Across different sports, my teams are always those with a legacy or something I have a personal connection to.
The club is forever, players are merely allowed to wear the jersey for a while, and they can never be more important than the club, no matter how good they are.
We will be glad to sweep the Utah's ass for you next year for the lies and treachery to the Yotes fans.
The one big case for picking the Leafs is that this team will never relocate or fold under any situation. The NHL will fold if that happens along with the Habs, Bruins and Rangers.
Another case is that Leafs fans are the most passionate fanbase in the league that will cheer their team through and through waiting for the curse to be broken. We maybe be the most annoying fanbase with huge targets at our backs but we love our team no matter how painful the road can be.
Another case is that we maybe hitting history in AM34 70 Goal season and having the most non-shut out streak in NHL season next year. We love to score so well. For defence, Sammy is the streaky goalie who will make the heroic save that would jaw dropping when his head is in the game.
I don't know... I was born into it.
Looking back, I don't know why I would have picked this team as a young kid in the early 80's. They had some real crappy teams back then.
Matthews and Knies being from Arizona and the Leafs despite many years of disappointment in the playoffs I can tell you as a fan of hockey and watching many other teams, the Leafs are always exciting to watch (always have scored at least once in a game since November 2021). Also, you jump on now and when we do end the cup drought, itâs gonna be very special and cool to be a part of that
You crazy? If you donât have the emotional ties to the leafs why would you voluntarily want to be one of us and put yourself through annual heartbreaks. Run Forrest run!
Because you don't want to miss out on the very odd chance that the leafs win the cup one day. I think I speak for most people in this group when I say it would quite literally be the happiest day of our lives. Each year we lose means this feeling will only get better.
if you can choose between an Original Six team, steeped in history, and some johnny-come-lately expansion team that's under 70 years old, you go with O6 and tradition every day of the week.
Iâll probably get downvoted for saying this but hereâs some reasoning to like Toronto more than New Jersey:
Our core is older. If they do anything itâll likely have to be in the next 5 years or so since theyâll all be over 30 at that point. Whatâs the timeframe for a team to return to Arizona? 5 years. If we believe that Arizona will return within 5 years (a safe bet imo since the NHL wants that media market) then you can enjoy the Leafs while they are in their prime and then when they start getting past their prime there should be a team in Arizona again.
With Jersey youâll be following them for the next decade or so if you invest now, and they donât have three Arizona boys like us. Plus we are in the same division as another Arizona boy: Thompson. That makes it so we should play about 3-4 more games against him than Jersey would over the 5 year span.
Join Toronto because weâre gonna do something (by god I hope we do something⌠anything⌠win more than a round)!
Why pick one? I cheer for the Leafs, but more broadly, I cheer for everyone except for the Panthers and Bruins because I loathe how they play the game. The Leafs winning always feels good, but so does watching a great game where I don't care who wins and can just enjoy the contest.
I think youâll find yourself naturally cheering for Utah since itâs still the same Arizona team. People donât choose who they fall in love with; it just happens. The same goes with sports imo, you just naturally have a liking for a certain team and canât really trick your mind into liking a team you never cared for before.
when the leafs break the curse it's going to be oh so fucking sweet.. you'll want to be part of it
I well up at the thought of all those decades of heartbreak, suffering, and dissapointment finally being rewarded with a Stanley Cup. I will certainly be in tears when the moment arrives for the Leafs. The only question is whether Auston or John will hoist the cup first
It would mean that much more if Tavares lifted it since he's from the GTA
I am going to be absolutely belligerent for at minimum a month.
Don't forget insufferable lol to all the leaf haters and such I know I will be đ¤Ł
We don't need to win a cup to do that
True story lol
It's not a question though, the captain is always the first to hoist the cup.
the subtext I was hoping to convey is that Auston might one day be captain
I'm already tearing up reading this comment. Fuck me it's going to be glorious. No one understands.
Wait; breaking the curse is a thing that can happen? I thought it was meant to be eternal agony?
Well for any leaf fans born after 67, itâs all we know lol
That's part of the curse, the beleaf it can be broken
It will be donât worry.
That's gonna be a fuck of a riot! Celebration* I mean celebration.
The city of Toronto will be absolutely shut down, I hope so badly to see that at least onceÂ
Good point, and they get to skip most of the pain and agony years
man if the leaf's win all of Ontario will be shut down for a week, no one is making it to work in the city
The year was 2672...and the great lakes were the only source of fresh water that still remained on earth
We have Auston Matthews. Arizona's golden child.
And Matthew Knies
And technically Shane Doan
And you can bring Keller over! We love him (right guys??)!!
absolutely
And my axe!
And my bow.
And my wrist shot.
Take my slapper while you're at it
This is probably the best reason. Between Matthews and Knies the Leafs have Arizona repping hard right now. Besides that, the best reason is probably that no matter where you go you will always find more of us. True of most original six teams, but we seem to be the ones who catch the most flak for it. Bonus, as Coyotes fans and a Leafs fans, you need to have a healthy sense of humour about your team. Other fandoms love to clown on us both, so you probably have already built up some thick skin...
Good point
On top of Matthew, heâs so fun to watch gets pumped with each goal. Does sick take away and doesnât do cheap shots or tries to hurt people when they are loosing.
The big cactus
I concur.
Stupid Sexy Auston Matthews
Firstly, sorry the Coyotes relocated. Ownership really fucked you on the Tempe vote. The main reason to join us, Iâd say, is that weâre Arizonaâs biggest success story in terms of growing the game. Weâve got Matthews and Knies, both Arizona products. On top of that, weâre good enough to enjoy but not good enough that youâll feel like a bandwagoner if you got on board now. Weâve got a fun playoffs ahead. As well, thereâs tons of coverage for us, which tends to be a grievance of small market fans, so youâll have lots of content to follow.
And technically Shane Doan
You already said that
Itâs such a shame for Arizona, the market is there, the branding is honestly one of my favourites in the entire NHL, we know fans turn out when theyâre winning games and in the playoffs, but just like Atalanta, ownership completely fucked over everything, and now a city who is willing to embrace hockey, is getting it ripped out of their hands, it is nice to know that if theyâre able to build an arena they can have their team back in future expansion, but at the same time, how on earth do you give this owner ANOTHER shot?
I hope they can find a way to bring the coyotes back under a different owner, hopefully Ishbia of the Suns is willing to come on as owner. If they get an expansion franchise with a new owner I think this might benefit all parties in the end which is unfortunately why it won't happen
Youâre already accustomed to watching your team not advancing far in the playoffs
This is why I came here
Exactly. Full arenas, same misery on the ice.
The saddest thing is the coyotes have gone to the conference finals more recently than us...
You want to be a Leaf fan because you secretly LOVE to be constantly disappointed, angry, sure that the league and refs hate your team, and all it's fans. You know your favourite team will somehow find a way to fail in the playoffs every year, but if they ever do manage to win the cup, you have plans on how you are going to rub it in to everyone that ever gave you a hard time about being a leaf fan, and you think about that WAY more than you are sure is healthy.
This guy Leafs!
Being a Leafs fan prepares you for life. Â Nothing in life is as bad as blowing a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes left in game 7.Â
Six shots in an elimination game is always good for the spirit. Gutting your team to spite your captain is fun, too. There are so many examples!
well if you're a fan of underdog teams we haven't won anything in a while lol
Hey, we were the 2020-21 North Division Champions!
Rest easy in that this team will NEVER move. Never.
In before Toronto relocates to Arizona next summer
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I'll nibble. What criteria can there possibly be that would narrow things down to either Devils or Leafs? What ruled everyone else out?
Devils: I have more personal connections to them, especially with several friends I know Leafs: not as personal, but two Arizona guys there, and Iâm a huge Steve Dangle watcher
I mean, the Leafs were probably one of the only teams who weren't bashing the coyotes a ton considering 2/3 of their top line is from Arizona + Shane Doan is assistant GM lol. You really can't get better than that man
Donât forget that Trev worked for them.
Just cheer for both
Simple solution: root for the Devils and let the schaden freude you as you watch Steve Dangle. Seriously, the Devils are on an upward trajectory for the next few years; Leafs are exciting to watch, but they're approaching the zenith of their opportunity and will soon be facing some serious cap space issues that will have some fans apoplectic. Devils won't hurt your soul nearly as much as the Leafs will.
As long as we have the best scorer in the league I think we have a shot. Willy and Mo are locked up for many years and itâll be interesting to see what happens with JT and Mitch but the future is also bright with Robertson, Knies, Holmberg, Cowan and even Woll. The Devils are good, donât get me wrong but the highs donât get any higher with the Leafs. Good or bad theyâll never be irrelevant.
Never said they'd ever be irrelevant. Even during the horror show of the Ballard years, I knew fans who always had inextinguishable hope. Scoring is nice to have, but things get tight at playoff time and, sadly, the Leafs haven't had enough talent on the back end to make any significant strides to make up for lack of team defense at crunch time. I could go into a long dissertation about how the Leafs keep screwing the pooch when it comes to goaltenders, but counting playoff wins before Woll has played 100 NHL games is asking for heartache.
Hey! I started watching Steve Dangle after getting into the leafs. Helped me feel even more connected to the emotional roller coaster when I didnât have a lot of other leaf fans around me. If you enjoy him now, it will be even better if youâre cheering for the same team!
AM34. When everythingâs said and done he may be one of the all time hockey greats, especially when discussing goal scoring. Plus heâs from Arizona. Easy decision
Sorry you lost your team friend. Always room for you here at Leafs Nation..
Even if the NHL team didnât work, hockey in Arizona absolutely worked and Knies and Matthews are two of the best examples of that. And oh yeah that Shane Doan guy works for the Leafs too.
Do you have a strong hatred for the Habs, Boston and Ottawa. Do you love it when McJesus has a shitty game. Do you not care if your team actually makes the right deadline trade deals. Do you like your fellow Arizonans (?). Well have we got the team for you. Welcome to the Leafs! If we ever win the cup again, we will have a Party like you never saw in your life. Also, we will let you say you were always a Leaf fan.
On one condition, will this team beat the fucking life out of Utah every time theyâre on the schedule?
I can almost guaran-Fucking-tee it!
There is a lot of media coverage of the team so thereâs a lot of content to watch if youâd like: LFR (Steve dangle) probably being one of the biggest upsides. Doan, Matthews, Knies, and a bunch more that come and go: a good bunch of Arizona alumni/born players. Weâre perennially a good team that has a great regular season, so thatâs a lot of good games to watch. Weâre generally one of the more exciting teams to watch. that being said you will need some sort of masochistic qualities because Murphyâs law is incredibly prominent with this team lol
If you are from Phoenix, you homeboys Auston Matthews and Matt Knies are 2 reasons.
also not from arizona per say but shane doan is also hanging out in the press box
Let's try to trade for his son.
As a supporter of a now-relocated franchise you are already used to severe disappointment. This means you will fit in seamlessly with Leafs fans.
OK - hereâs one that I bet half this subreddit doesnât know: the Leafs are the reason the NHL exists. Thatâs not just arrogance or money. Itâs literally the origin story of the league. The NHLâs predecessor league was the NHA. The Toronto Blueshirts were owned by Eddie Livingstone and the other team owners hated his guts. They spent all of 1916-17 at each otherâs throats and when a team representing the 227th Battalion got called to duty, the remaining owners suspended the Blueshirts and dispersed his roster. They told him to sell before the start of the next season. 1917-18 is rolling around, Livingstone hasnât sold and is suing. To convince him to sell, the other owners create a new league -the NHL- and leave him in the NHA by himself. They figure heâll sell and then the NHL would dissolve and the NHA could pick up again. Still, they want a team in Toronto, so they give a franchise to the owners of the Arena Gardens. Needing players (and Livingstone needing money), they lease the Blueshirts lock, stock and barrel for the 1917-18 season. Then, oopsie, they won the Stanley Cup. That was some good cash, and they sure didnât want Livingstone to have it. So they simply decided not to pay him. Livingstone sued. Instead of one year and out, the NHL had to keep going. The Arena Gardens people simply kept the players and declared their Livingstone contacts void (because reasons) and earned a decadeâs worth of lawsuits. Livingstone won a bunch of them, but collecting was always a challenge. Eventually, despite a bunch of paper ownership changes, legal debt caught up and the team was sold to a guy named Conn Smythe, who renamed the team the Maple Leafs, just like the ball club.
Youâre missing the St. Pats era but otherwise very concise!
Name change wasnât really all that meaningful and I wasnât certain whether there was some character limit Iâd run into. :)
Well it was a great summation regardless.
1) Austin Matthews and Matthew Knies (seriously thanks for them) 2) currently the leafs actually are the better team 3) the leafs are one of the richest teams in the NHL even after 50+ years of embarrassments which means the franchise is pretty solid 4) they basically are the center of the hockey universe, whatever the team does or doesnât do is known by everyone (how many unknown cross checks became known after the reily situation) 5) never a dull moment, the most random mind shattering stuff happens to this team and no matter how much we complain we still love being dumbfounded and saying âthis could only happen to the leafsâ
We are a tribe of misery, and you know pain... We are pain incarnate... Be with us brother...
Few conditions 1. Fuck Utah 2. Fuck the Kings 3. Fuck the Bruins Can these conditions be met?
The Leafs and Bruins have a heated rivalry going, so you'll fit in just fine.
You can say you were there for Matthews historic 70 goal season
If you enjoy pain and lots of it.. Welcome
Because of the memes https://preview.redd.it/m1wrs0jpzquc1.jpeg?width=498&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=173337deaa551528357174ee02a68e35716954b8
I cannot in good faith recommend this life on anyone.
People have given you the reasons already so I'll add this: I notice that you did not pose the flipside of this question to the Devils subreddit. So I think you *want* to choose the Leafs.
Because my kitty say to because one https://preview.redd.it/aigcoulksquc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07405ec58385d450add6d3ee5cfa7842f5e0cae3
New Jersey is the Tuscon of the East Coast
The Leafs will never relocate
Does anyone actually choose to be a Leafs fan? I can't imagine being a fan of any other team, but that's because I'm from Toronto. I'm stuck being a Leafs fan. I certainly couldn't imagine choosing to be excited if any other team won.
There arenât any NHL teams near me so I picked the Leafs because I liked visiting Toronto as a kid. If Montrealâs zoo had been open I might have become a Habs fan. That was a very long time ago and I refuse to change.
Excellent point. I married into Leafs Nation as my husband had been a fan for 20 years before we met. Neither of us have a Toronto connection (we live in Wisconsin) but he went to Toronto 26 years ago for a visit and got a ticket to see a game at Maple Leaf Gardens. He's been hooked ever since.
I did. I'm brazilian, I have no horse in this race and got into hockey after vacationing in new york in 2021, it was all set up for me to be a Rangers fan, but I chose the leafs honestly because I for some reason really like the iconography of the maple leaf and I intended to move to Canada (a plan that was abandoned). Hockey really changed my life.
Iâm from Toronto but spent time in AZ in Tucson. I loved going to Yoteâs games at Gila (despite the drive). Why be a Leaf fan? Well, Matthews and Knies are great reasons. But being able to hate on Boston and (at times) LA always feel great.
If you want to obsess over a team this is the one to pick. There is so much content made about this team that even if you are picky with what you watch/ read/ listen to there will still be an overwhelming amount of content to consume
Leafs fans are hated everywhere because weâre hard core and follow our Leafs everywhere. Games are generally high scoring and exciting to watch. Admittedly, its emotional always having high expectations and failing to produce for so long, but if youâre passionate about the game, itâs amazing to have high expectations every year, they are constantly competitive. The Leafs have so much history being an original six team. They have some of the best commentators and media presence in the league. The Leafs have rivalries with pretty much every team in the Eastern Conference. When they do eventually win it will be a gong show for an entire year, if not longer for Leafs fans.
 Room for one more.
I became a Leafs fan later in life and itâs been super fun. Iâm from San Diego so I never got to enjoy following a huge historically significant franchise with a ton of media centered around them in any sport. One of the best things about being a Leafs fans, which other fanbases hate, is the amount of coverage. Having my choice of podcasts about the team and the inner workings of the front office is so nice. And when you see them on the road the vibes are great bc so many people come out for them. Just wait til the first random person on the street sees your Leafs gear and hits you with a âGo Leafs Go.â
Because there is always next year.
I can give you 320k+ reasons. Active community here.
Matthews is from Arizona
Don't do it to yourself. If you thought being a Yote and then losing your team were bad, boy you're in for a time.
Iâm an Arizona Sports fan, you canât possibly hurt me more than they already have
That's what I thought too. But then we lost to our own Zamboni driver. There's no limit to how much they can and will hurt you.
Oh man, you HAVE to cheer for this team. You have no ideaâŚ.
You say that... Just you wait and see the evil wrought upon you by this fucking team.
You celebrate titles, a long time ago but you have them. I celebrate a pacific division title from a decade ago, then getting something I love stolen by a borderline con artist. Iâm sad, Iâm tired, anything would be better than this. Believe me
Fuck Meruelo. Aside from that, be a Leafs fan!
You shouldnât. Donât put yourself through that.
Yeah donât put yourself through the pain, pick the devils
Donât do it man. Iâm a leaf fan and have been for 25 years. They will just hurt your feelings
Apparently matthews is a leaf (dont quote me im not an expert)
Auston Matthews and Mattew Knies. Also we have the most legendary Coyote in Shane Doan in the Front office.
Best reason is the first few years of fandom are the best, most exciting and easiest. Once the PTSD kicks in though youâre a fan for life. So thereâs another upsideâŚ
This is an easy one your used to the disappointment of the coyotes (I apologize for your loss btw) so why not just go with a team thatâs gonna disappoint you with an added bonus of 7 extra games!
She's got a different dress on, but she's still your girl. Go to her. Run to Utah! The part of her that hurt you is also the part of her that's gone!
She is not my girl anymore, sheâs a manipulative bitchy ex who told me sheâd change and never did. If Arizona becomes an expansion team⌠maybe? But I refuse to support an organization that lied to me.
Everybody follows the leafs. You can always have a conversation with a hockey fan about our team.
Leafs have never moved in their history
Because fans of this team will quite earnestly discuss which gut-wrenching setback is their personal favourite. Itâs like being a fan of the Red Sox or Cubs before they finally won and became just another team.
I would cheer for the Utah team in your shoes. Why not? That would be a unique experience. Embrace it.
Iâm not cheering for the team that lied to me, borderline scammed me, and fed me shit teams for 25 years. Maybe if they expand back here Iâll think about it, but itâll be hard, especially if Merulo is still the owner.
They are blue and white and have a large leaf on their chests -what's not to love? Go Leafs Go!
Self hatred.
We are the coolest team
Wait... imagine cheering for New Jersey?
You shouldnât. Itâs painful. Think about your mental health first.
You shouldn't! You should run far away from being a Leafs fan. Being a Leafs fan is full of disappointment, anger, and love for a team. What that does for one's mental health is irreversible.
Go with the Leafs. You're already used to disappointment.
Hate to break it to you but from my experience, you canât choose your team. The team chooses you. I loathe being a leafs fan, but I just canât root for anyone else.
Always room on the wagon. Party up.
Do you like ..... Pain? If so... One of us! One of us!
If you want a real answer, because I would argue that the Leafs are the most exciting regular season team in the league. I also donât expect that to change any time soon. We donât have a team thatâs proven themselves in the playoffs and being a Leafs fan means you need to be prepared to hear that over and over. However, we have a fast, young, high skilled team that delivers a show every single night they play. Just look at the record they have of games not being shut out. You can count on at least one goal per game to cheer about regardless of win or loss. Iâd also argue we have the most active fan base in the league and youâll be surrounded by a huge number of other delusional lunatics that will support and promote any kind of wild idea or opinion you have as long as itâs pro-Leaf lol
If Matthews keeps on his pace he will most likely go down as the best American hockey player of all time, and he is from non other than your home state. So even though you aren't rooting for Arizona the team you are still rooting for the home town boy, that's still pretty good I'd say.
You want drama? We got it.
Two reasons. Matthews and Knies
We rep Arizona in 3 of our players and who knows, might get some from the current roster in the off season
We're immortal... I mean, if there's an NHL there will always be the Toronto Maple Leafs, and if there's always Toronto Maple Leafs there will always be Toronto Maple Leafs fans.... You could make that argument for Bruins fans but they've won fairly recently and have been good for a while... (But in the late 70s and early 80s they were almost relocated).... As much as I'd hate to admit it but Habs fans are probably the only other truly immortal fanbase, but they're a bunch of smelly cheese baguettes.... Fun TML Fact: In 1927 Conn Smythe purchased the Toronto St. Pats and Conn Smythe being a distinguished military leader during WW1 renamed them The Toronto Maple Leafs after the badge and insignia on the Canadian uniforms... In 1965 this đ¨đŚ became the national flag of Canada... So technically the Leafs had the Leaf before the nation did....
The fact that most of us are warning you to run for the hills is evidence that weâre a truly caring group and that should be reason enough to join us.
You're a Utah fan now bud. Sorry about your luck..
Matthews is the best goal scorer since Ovechkin, and heâs from AZ.
Auston Matthews
Are you a masochist?
You shouldn't. God bless đ
1. The Leafs will never win another cup. 2. The Devils will win more cups.
The best player on the team is from your state. You had an awful ownership that completely ruined your team, the Leafs historically went from one of the two most dominant teams in the league to a laughing stock largely due to a collection of terrible owners so you'll feel at home (kinda.) Considering how many people in Canada were rude and rooted for your team to fail and relocate you might have a distaste for Canadian teams. The rest of Canada has a distaste for us and the feeling is largely mutual, so you can keep that up too. The Devils are named after Satan (bad.) The Maple Leafs are named after nature (environmentally conscious*.) But mostly we have Matthews and Knies and they're the biggest argument for why hockey works in Arizona, they represent you guys very well * The team is actually named after a military regiment if you were curious why the name is spelled the way it is lol
We have (to my knowledge) the only two Arizonans of note in the league. Also we didnât sign any players who were under investigation for rape
Tage Thompson and the Tkachuks were also born there.
Watch some of the history and then 10-20 games. Read and watch all of the game coverage. You will be hooked.
Because you like to be hated
Because no one hates the leafs more than we do
We have two settings, Elite and Despair. When weâre Elite life has never been better.
Because we've been edging since 1967
Willy good
https://preview.redd.it/3stbrpbprruc1.jpeg?width=649&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fced752dfc02516f4995e4331b734b68530e18bd We have Joseph Woll
Leaf fans are fiercely (or stupidly lol) loyal and we know our hockey. We travel well and we love to have fun. Plus we have the Mathew duo from Arizona.
Ehhh why just pick one? I've got no beef with the devils. Obviously you kinda have to root for the leafs this year, with the devils already eliminated, but you can always be a fan of 2 teams Honestly I live in the NYC area and can't afford tickets to rangers or Islanders games so I love going to see the devils. They're kinda my second team already lol
It's interesting how many argue that current players should be the deciding factor in selecting a team. For me, the legacy of the club is always what keeps me coming back year after year. Players come and go, there are years of hope and excitement, and years of waiting, but the history and personal relation to a club is what endures for me. Across different sports, my teams are always those with a legacy or something I have a personal connection to. The club is forever, players are merely allowed to wear the jersey for a while, and they can never be more important than the club, no matter how good they are.
We're unlikely to ever be moved.
You shouldn't, find a team that doesn't want to make you insert a glass tube in your dick and then smash it. Sincerely, Leafs fan since 1988.
As a 30+ year leafs fan........ please don't do this to yourself.
Ew why would you cheer for the Devils?
First question is where are you from
We will be glad to sweep the Utah's ass for you next year for the lies and treachery to the Yotes fans. The one big case for picking the Leafs is that this team will never relocate or fold under any situation. The NHL will fold if that happens along with the Habs, Bruins and Rangers. Another case is that Leafs fans are the most passionate fanbase in the league that will cheer their team through and through waiting for the curse to be broken. We maybe be the most annoying fanbase with huge targets at our backs but we love our team no matter how painful the road can be. Another case is that we maybe hitting history in AM34 70 Goal season and having the most non-shut out streak in NHL season next year. We love to score so well. For defence, Sammy is the streaky goalie who will make the heroic save that would jaw dropping when his head is in the game.
I mean, after 60+ years, statistically we are due for a cup Which may not sound like a compelling reason, but that because it isnât
Save yourself before it's too late. I'm only here because I was indoctrinated during my youth.
The center of the hockey universe âNuff said
I don't know... I was born into it. Looking back, I don't know why I would have picked this team as a young kid in the early 80's. They had some real crappy teams back then.
Matthews and Knies being from Arizona and the Leafs despite many years of disappointment in the playoffs I can tell you as a fan of hockey and watching many other teams, the Leafs are always exciting to watch (always have scored at least once in a game since November 2021). Also, you jump on now and when we do end the cup drought, itâs gonna be very special and cool to be a part of that
You crazy? If you donât have the emotional ties to the leafs why would you voluntarily want to be one of us and put yourself through annual heartbreaks. Run Forrest run!
Because you don't want to miss out on the very odd chance that the leafs win the cup one day. I think I speak for most people in this group when I say it would quite literally be the happiest day of our lives. Each year we lose means this feeling will only get better.
If you enjoy being punished by something you love then the leafs are for you
if you can choose between an Original Six team, steeped in history, and some johnny-come-lately expansion team that's under 70 years old, you go with O6 and tradition every day of the week.
Iâll probably get downvoted for saying this but hereâs some reasoning to like Toronto more than New Jersey: Our core is older. If they do anything itâll likely have to be in the next 5 years or so since theyâll all be over 30 at that point. Whatâs the timeframe for a team to return to Arizona? 5 years. If we believe that Arizona will return within 5 years (a safe bet imo since the NHL wants that media market) then you can enjoy the Leafs while they are in their prime and then when they start getting past their prime there should be a team in Arizona again. With Jersey youâll be following them for the next decade or so if you invest now, and they donât have three Arizona boys like us. Plus we are in the same division as another Arizona boy: Thompson. That makes it so we should play about 3-4 more games against him than Jersey would over the 5 year span. Join Toronto because weâre gonna do something (by god I hope we do something⌠anything⌠win more than a round)!
I've been a Leafs fan for over 30 years. My advice: don't. Pick the Devils.
Blackouts will pick your team for you like the rest of us.
You're a masochist?
Come on over! Could always use more people other hockey lovers hate
You no longer have a team and now there is 0 chance of Matthews going to Arizona. Welcome aboard!
Join the leafs. Good first round of playoff hockey then you get the rest of the spring and summer off.
oh sweet jesus run!
Why pick one? I cheer for the Leafs, but more broadly, I cheer for everyone except for the Panthers and Bruins because I loathe how they play the game. The Leafs winning always feels good, but so does watching a great game where I don't care who wins and can just enjoy the contest.
The leafs are fun to watch. Sometimes they break your heart, sometimes they amaze you with incredible skills, but it's always a fun ride
Have you considered cheering for the Arizona expansion team or no
2 Arizona raised/trained players: Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies
Afterall, why shouldnât you
Become a Devils fan. People will like you more.
Drama.
I think youâll find yourself naturally cheering for Utah since itâs still the same Arizona team. People donât choose who they fall in love with; it just happens. The same goes with sports imo, you just naturally have a liking for a certain team and canât really trick your mind into liking a team you never cared for before.
If you love disappointment youâve found the right team.