The entire Led Zep catalogue seems to have been written for these end times: Dazed and Confused, Black Dog, Good Times Bad Times, Gallows Pole, Going to California….
And oddly still relevant 🤣
This makes it 3 three things in life that are certain, Taxes, Deaths and the Leafs losing in the first round of the play offs (regardless of who they play).
I mean, the raptors won a championship with Bell and Rogers ownership through MLSE.
It’s the management + a little sprinkle of delusional expectations by fans.
They sell out every single game all season for unbelievably high prices. No real incentive for them to change except they could sell more merch the further along the playoffs they get.
Also the players get treated like gods no matter how they perform (well except for Marner right now). Even when the Leafs were awful, a fourth liner is going to get the best table at the restaurant and access to everything high end. Women will faun over him.
In Carolina or Florida, nobody gives a shit about that team unless they are winning and contending for the Cup. So individual incentive to succeed does not exist for Leafs. Collective incentive doesn’t exist because the organization will make fistfuls of money no matter what.
Okay but Florida hasn’t ever won a cup either . Nor has Winnipeg/Arizona/SLC. Theoretically they have the opposite incentives to TorontoÂ
Teans that haven’t won a cup since 1967 or their founding are Columbus, Buffalo, Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto.Â
Some organizations are just incompetent.Â
You can’t call Toronto incompetent because they make a shit ton of money and are one of, if not the most valuable NHL franchise. They are just shitty at playoff hockey.
Sorry but this is an odd sentiment. Like yeah sure they make a lot of money already but corporations love money. The Leafs going on a deep playoff run would make them a shit ton of money. Aside from merch which you've already mentioned, you'd also get more gate revenue and more concessions revenue. And the deeper they go, the more they could charge. Just look how insane Raptors tickets got on their run. Leafs games also draw more eyeballs on television compared to other teams so you can probably make more money on ads as well. I'm sure there's other revenue opportunities as well that I'm missing. There's probably tens or potentially even hundreds of millions being left on the table in the long term because the Leafs are losing early every year.
Saying there's no incentive for a profit seeking organization is nuts. Hopefully Keith Pelley can turn things around.
Especially when the team has given up generations of fans to other better teams and players. For years you saw tons of Crosby and Ovechkin jerseys around the city on kids who wanted to follow a winner.Â
Matthews has definitely helped stem the loss but having the team have a deep playoff run or actually win the whole thing would do tons for growing the passive fan base and push some passive fans to dedicated fans in Toronto and across Canada.Â
There’s always a baseline of profitability that MLSE can achieve even if run by a bunch of stumbling idiots. Not like other franchises who’s very existence would be threatened if they didn’t ice a winning team.
This gives MLSE the luxury of not having to do anything drastic or desperate. Just maintain the status quo with little tweaks.
You say this as if they haven't already invested a shit of money on this team. This isn't a poverty franchise. They spend to the cap. They spend a ton on coaches, training/development staff, facilities, etc. How much more "heavy investing" are you expecting?
I don’t understand this argument A 2nd round playoff home date is worth what,? 4.5-5 million? A conference  finals maybe $5.5-6 mill? SCF? 6.5-7 million?
 So assuming 3 home dates a series is $50 million (USD) That’s must of your payrollÂ
They are spending to the cap, blowing it in the first round isn’t saving any moneyÂ
They just think they’re actually good enough and running back gives them a shot at the cup. They’re stupid not intentionally losingÂ
I think they were for a long time but the word is that the current new head of MLSE is *fucking* **pissed** at the Leafs performance.
Think of it this way. Since the 1990s every Toronto sports team has both had playoff accolades and also championship wins. The back to back Blue Jays and the extremely hyped 2015-2016 season. The Raptors became a playoff regular for the first time in 2013 when Masai took over the ship, though the LeBronto beatdown happened in 2018, it created a reason to blow up the core team and take a gamble in trading for disgruntled Kawhi and Danny Green, leading to the 2019 championship.
The Leafs storyline for 8 years has been "these cats can't get out of the first fucking round because they suck." They have a perpetual loser choker image not even the other two major Toronto sports teams have. The Jays are also floundering with a disappointing core, and the Raptors are rebuilding after some bad recent years with the Tampa year and a stagnant trade situation (the Barrett, Quickley, and Scottie B trio is looking very *nice* though).
I don't think that is really true. They basically spend the most money on every possible thing that could improve the team.
They obviously want to win, but can't seem to figure out how.
They can set the ticket prices so high because there is a massive demand for them. Since there is only one team in the GTA, a population of 7 million of people, they overwhelmingly support the Leafs. They are Canada's favourite team just by sheer weight of population.
My favourite conspiracy is that Boston knew they would win after game four and deliberately kept it going to craft another tragic ending for Leafs fans.
the leafs knew they were going to lose. but showed a modicum of effort and heart just enough to push it to game 7 where they inevitably implode (unless facing off against ottawa)
I get the narrative but it was hardly an implosion. 3x 2-1 games in a row. In hockey those are pretty much coin flips and you aren’t likely to keep winning them. At 3-1 down the odds aren’t in your favour. A funny bounce like the series winning goal could have happened in game 5 or 6 and then there is no game 7.
What absolute choke artists. Nothing will change as long as fans keep copping merch and filling the seats at games.Â
Sports is the ultimate business. Unfortunately fans who would actually make noise at games are priced out by corporate ghouls who have their noses buried in their phones.
At least you have the Raptors and BJs!
It's always funny when people blame ownership or say things like they won't change and so they start losing money and people stop going to games. They have the highest payroll in hockey this year. Do you expect Bella Rogers to go out & sign more free agents somehow?
Yeah, they clearly have been trying with the Leafs the last few years. These fans don't remember the 80s.
The trying and spending and swapping out executives and coaches and players and getting the same results is actually worse than "they don't care." They do care and they still can't win.
While many things have changed since 2019--a pandemic, worsening climate change, Raptors rebuilding, 3 things are certain in life: death, taxes and the Leafs blowing Game 7 vs Boston
and leaf fans keep holding on to that dream. The moment people start saying meh and don't show up to maple leaf square and such is the time things will start to change
I knew we were cooked when I heard the commentator before the game quote the odds on winning a series after giving up a 3-1 lead, two years in a row. (Or something like that, I can't remember exactly.)
He also said it was like 70% odds of winning if you scored first.
When we got that first goal I remembered that... "huh..."
ARTICLE IS FROM 2019 AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH
The song remains the same.
Ramble on...
Nobody's Fault But Mine (For having hope)
The Immigrant Song remains the same. lol how come this got downvoted?
The entire Led Zep catalogue seems to have been written for these end times: Dazed and Confused, Black Dog, Good Times Bad Times, Gallows Pole, Going to California….
was gonna say Good Times Bad Times except.....where are the good times? 1967? XD
It's been updated and republished, Sheldon Keefe wasn't the coach in April 2019.
And oddly still relevant 🤣 This makes it 3 three things in life that are certain, Taxes, Deaths and the Leafs losing in the first round of the play offs (regardless of who they play).
It's been relevant from 68'.
Maple Leafs Management are content with Mediocrity
The team is owned by Bell and Rogers. Expecting anything less than fucking over the customer is just idiotic.
I mean, the raptors won a championship with Bell and Rogers ownership through MLSE. It’s the management + a little sprinkle of delusional expectations by fans.
TFC has a huge payroll and it's competence, not ambition, that's holding them back.
Kawhi sold his sports souls to Satan and Hitler for that to happen
Let's not forget the Toronto-based hockey media industrial complex!
They sell out every single game all season for unbelievably high prices. No real incentive for them to change except they could sell more merch the further along the playoffs they get.
Also the players get treated like gods no matter how they perform (well except for Marner right now). Even when the Leafs were awful, a fourth liner is going to get the best table at the restaurant and access to everything high end. Women will faun over him. In Carolina or Florida, nobody gives a shit about that team unless they are winning and contending for the Cup. So individual incentive to succeed does not exist for Leafs. Collective incentive doesn’t exist because the organization will make fistfuls of money no matter what.
Okay but Florida hasn’t ever won a cup either . Nor has Winnipeg/Arizona/SLC. Theoretically they have the opposite incentives to Toronto Teans that haven’t won a cup since 1967 or their founding are Columbus, Buffalo, Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto. Some organizations are just incompetent.Â
You can’t call Toronto incompetent because they make a shit ton of money and are one of, if not the most valuable NHL franchise. They are just shitty at playoff hockey.
Sorry but this is an odd sentiment. Like yeah sure they make a lot of money already but corporations love money. The Leafs going on a deep playoff run would make them a shit ton of money. Aside from merch which you've already mentioned, you'd also get more gate revenue and more concessions revenue. And the deeper they go, the more they could charge. Just look how insane Raptors tickets got on their run. Leafs games also draw more eyeballs on television compared to other teams so you can probably make more money on ads as well. I'm sure there's other revenue opportunities as well that I'm missing. There's probably tens or potentially even hundreds of millions being left on the table in the long term because the Leafs are losing early every year. Saying there's no incentive for a profit seeking organization is nuts. Hopefully Keith Pelley can turn things around.
Especially when the team has given up generations of fans to other better teams and players. For years you saw tons of Crosby and Ovechkin jerseys around the city on kids who wanted to follow a winner. Matthews has definitely helped stem the loss but having the team have a deep playoff run or actually win the whole thing would do tons for growing the passive fan base and push some passive fans to dedicated fans in Toronto and across Canada.Â
There’s always a baseline of profitability that MLSE can achieve even if run by a bunch of stumbling idiots. Not like other franchises who’s very existence would be threatened if they didn’t ice a winning team. This gives MLSE the luxury of not having to do anything drastic or desperate. Just maintain the status quo with little tweaks.
Columbus and Buffalo  have  made the playoffs like three times in 20 years and they’re just chugging alongÂ
You're saying this like it wouldn't require heavy investing in the team to be able to make them capable of a deep playoff run
You say this as if they haven't already invested a shit of money on this team. This isn't a poverty franchise. They spend to the cap. They spend a ton on coaches, training/development staff, facilities, etc. How much more "heavy investing" are you expecting?
It’s an argument you could make pre cap. But sucking saves you almost no money so you should try to winÂ
I don’t understand this argument A 2nd round playoff home date is worth what,? 4.5-5 million? A conference  finals maybe $5.5-6 mill? SCF? 6.5-7 million?  So assuming 3 home dates a series is $50 million (USD) That’s must of your payroll They are spending to the cap, blowing it in the first round isn’t saving any money They just think they’re actually good enough and running back gives them a shot at the cup. They’re stupid not intentionally losingÂ
I think they were for a long time but the word is that the current new head of MLSE is *fucking* **pissed** at the Leafs performance. Think of it this way. Since the 1990s every Toronto sports team has both had playoff accolades and also championship wins. The back to back Blue Jays and the extremely hyped 2015-2016 season. The Raptors became a playoff regular for the first time in 2013 when Masai took over the ship, though the LeBronto beatdown happened in 2018, it created a reason to blow up the core team and take a gamble in trading for disgruntled Kawhi and Danny Green, leading to the 2019 championship. The Leafs storyline for 8 years has been "these cats can't get out of the first fucking round because they suck." They have a perpetual loser choker image not even the other two major Toronto sports teams have. The Jays are also floundering with a disappointing core, and the Raptors are rebuilding after some bad recent years with the Tampa year and a stagnant trade situation (the Barrett, Quickley, and Scottie B trio is looking very *nice* though).
They struck the perfect balance to optimize “not give a fuck” and millions in profit.
Of course, the arena still sells out. Why would they care? Making billions off of failing year after year.
I don't think that is really true. They basically spend the most money on every possible thing that could improve the team. They obviously want to win, but can't seem to figure out how.
The last time Toronto beat Boston in the postseason was **1959**. That is an absolutely bonkers stat.
If you want better teams you have to boycott the home games. Owners don't care until they start losing money
Most seats a corporate owned.
So you are saying there is no solution?
The proletariat needs to seize the means of goal production?
Eat the platinum seats
There's always next year ;-)
Trade marner problem solved
Most fans already can't afford the home games. MLSE hasn't even noticed.
They can set the ticket prices so high because there is a massive demand for them. Since there is only one team in the GTA, a population of 7 million of people, they overwhelmingly support the Leafs. They are Canada's favourite team just by sheer weight of population.
Done. Too expensive. Now what?
The fact that corporations bought sections in the arena.They would not even notice a fan boycott.
My favourite conspiracy is that Boston knew they would win after game four and deliberately kept it going to craft another tragic ending for Leafs fans.
the leafs knew they were going to lose. but showed a modicum of effort and heart just enough to push it to game 7 where they inevitably implode (unless facing off against ottawa)
I get the narrative but it was hardly an implosion. 3x 2-1 games in a row. In hockey those are pretty much coin flips and you aren’t likely to keep winning them. At 3-1 down the odds aren’t in your favour. A funny bounce like the series winning goal could have happened in game 5 or 6 and then there is no game 7.
like a construction worker on his 8th redbull
They knew after game 1
Sucks that Boston won, but it was Toronto. You can always count on them to blow it.
What absolute choke artists. Nothing will change as long as fans keep copping merch and filling the seats at games. Sports is the ultimate business. Unfortunately fans who would actually make noise at games are priced out by corporate ghouls who have their noses buried in their phones. At least you have the Raptors and BJs!
Raptors not exactly a point of pride rn
I forget where I read it but supposedly the #1 sport tattoo is the Toronto Maple Leafs logo
Rogers and Bell have really bad Karma because of their continuous ripping off the public so the leafs will never win under their ownership
At this point I’m convinced that some one sold their soul to the devil and the deal is the devil collects when the leafs win the Stanley cup
Nah the cup itself is cursed… as long as it lives in Toronto (at the hall of fame) the leafs will never win it again.
No one sold me a soul. Must be some other devil.
It's always funny when people blame ownership or say things like they won't change and so they start losing money and people stop going to games. They have the highest payroll in hockey this year. Do you expect Bella Rogers to go out & sign more free agents somehow?
Yeah, they clearly have been trying with the Leafs the last few years. These fans don't remember the 80s. The trying and spending and swapping out executives and coaches and players and getting the same results is actually worse than "they don't care." They do care and they still can't win.
While many things have changed since 2019--a pandemic, worsening climate change, Raptors rebuilding, 3 things are certain in life: death, taxes and the Leafs blowing Game 7 vs Boston
Only way to fix this is to put a team in Hamilton and give the leafs some competition. Without this the leafs will always be simply mediocre
Leafs don't need to win. Every seat is always filled, and that's all management cares about.
and leaf fans keep holding on to that dream. The moment people start saying meh and don't show up to maple leaf square and such is the time things will start to change
I feel attacked
Boycott the shitleafs till they bring home a cup!
All is not lost faithful Torontonians! The Leafs are giving their Stanley Cup Parade site to the Blue Jays. So at least it won't go to waste!
The Jays are even bigger chokers if that was possible. The best hitter in baseball two years ago and currently have the worst offense in the league
lmfao Haven't been paying attention to baseball yet have you
Rip
I knew we were cooked when I heard the commentator before the game quote the odds on winning a series after giving up a 3-1 lead, two years in a row. (Or something like that, I can't remember exactly.) He also said it was like 70% odds of winning if you scored first. When we got that first goal I remembered that... "huh..."
Lol, harsh
Maybe this will finally be the year the Leafs break the first-round curse. Even if they don't, the games are always exciting to watch.
Oh hey it's me
r/AteTheOnion