Life is great for Leaf fans as media "crys the blues."

It was the worst of times for the media types in Toronto, times had truly changed. For the media types it was the worst of all news. You see for decades they had made their living pouring their derision on the lowly but loyal Leaf fans who suffered through some of the most inept management and trades ever seen in professional sports. But one day, everything changed. Rogers Cable bought the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Ontario teacher's pension plan who were content just to cash in on the regular season gate receipts and didn't seem to care for playoff glory or it's riches in Toronto. Rogers hired Brennan Shanahan and then suddenly after decades of being the laughing stock of the NHL the fans were turning the tables on their evil oppressors and mocking them for hating the Leafs and her fans. The Leafs, other than unloading Phil Kessel were no longer making bad moves. They had Mike Babcock at the helm and finally got their star Center, Auston Mathews, number one overall in the NHL draft. Another turning point was when the Leaf's GM Lou Lamorello landed Fredrick Andersen for a very good price and out of nowhere Connor Brown and Andreas Johnsson appeared from the long forgotten Burke era. If that wasn't enough, Timothy Liljegren got mono  and free fell through the draft allowing Toronto to take him 17th overall in a weak draft class. Was that enough? Hardly. Mitch Marner(4th overall) and William Nylander(8th overall) started to rear their heads as well giving Toronto the best collection of forwards since the Oilers. At the same time the stubborn coach Mike Babcock got through to Morgan Reilly who finally emerged as a bonafide top 2 defenseman while Travis Dermott made huge strides in 2018 as well, all the way from the 2nd round in 2015. How could it get any better? Well, New York Islanders star Center John Tavares(former 1st overall pick) woke up one day and said " I'm going home to get a cup!" Thus the nightmare for the Toronto media who had for years made their living laughing at the Leafs and their fans had begun with a thunderous roar. To make matters even more delicious The Leaf's farm team the Toronto Marlies won the AHL's Calder cup giving The Maple Leafs a stream of soon to be ready NHL prospects for years to come. There was precious little for the Toronto media to pick apart anymore, how would they survive these lean times ? They couldn't just join the rabid Leaf fans who could smell a cup coming from miles away, so they told them to calm down and not get excited.


Consider this, Toronto's Center is 4th ranked Auston Mathews, 10th ranked John Tavarres and their 3rd line Centerman  is none other than  Nazem Kadri, the guy who shut down and crushed  Connor McDavid and scored 2 goals in the process. Their wingers included the likes of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown along with sniper Andreas Johnsson and speedster Kappanen not to mention veteran scorer Patrick Marleau.It is doubtful Toronto has ever had such a skilled group of forwards and still they added Tyler Ennis to the group while hard working Hyman brought up the rear. The Leafs also have some promising winger prospects such as Carl Grundstrom,Jeremy Bracco,Yegor Korshkov and Pierre Engvall marinating in the minors. In a word, Toronto is "Stacked!" The Leaf fans need apologize for nothing. This is an incredibly exciting team entering the 2018 NHL season and with the addition of a defenseman to play with Morgan Reilly becomes the cup favorite. So rave on Leaf fans, you have every right and you have earned it! Dubas has the assets and needless to say when the right offer comes he will add the needed pieces. I smell a cup within 2 seasons in Toronto and if you don't think this is one of the best teams in NHL hockey then you must be half blind.