Let's see. My name is Mike, I discovered the Toronto Maple Leafs in the very early 80s and by the time Wendel was leading us to a first round sweep of the Blackhawks in 1986, I was infatuated. I survived the Ballard years, was rewarded with a competitive team in the early 90s before living through another dip and a few more good years under Pat Quinn. I've been through a lot with this team over the past three decades.
I've seen some horrible teams, I remember finishing last in the Norris Division, I remember when Tom Fergus was our best player. I believe the worst is yet to come. I believe our 2008/2009 season is as bad as it seems. I think we're about to witness the worst Maple Leafs season in franchise history.
Let's assume Mats Sundin moves on and Cliff Fletcher continues to trim the fat. Everything is aligned to give us maximum ping pong balls in the John Tavares lottery. Our best centres will be Antropov and Stajan. That's all you need to know about this team. Nik freakin' Antropov and Matt flippin' Stajan. That, my friends, is a last place team.
And get this! I'm okay with sucking large for one more year. Having endured decades without playing in a cup final, I'm happy just knowing competitive seasons lie ahead, even if it means tasting pain in 2008/2009.
Fellow Leaf fans, it's as bad as it seems.
