The Peril of Being A Leafs Fan

Did I miss the memo? Because I'm on the email list. I would have thought that since the Toronto Maple Leafs have pretty much fallen off the face of the earth at one of the most critical times, I would have at least found the email in my inbox to let me know.

The steep slide into hockey oblivion began when Leafs General Manager John Ferguson let the heart and soul of the team simply walk away. The free agency frenzy had barely started on Monday before Gary Roberts was snatched away by the Florida Panthers along with childhood friend Joe Nieuwendyk. We have also seen the unceremonial departure of a third future Hall of Famer in Brian Leetch. But this is only the beginning.

Since Monday at noon, the Leafs management has stood idly by, lemonade in one hand and TV remote in the other, watching many of the free agents who are actually worth pursuing, get signed to very respectable deals by other teams.

Since my first birthday, the major issue for the blue and white has been the same: defence. To put it mildly, it sucks. Consider the talent we have seen pass by the Leafs to sign with other clubs: Sergei Gonchar (to Pittsburgh, who by the way, will be looking very good in the next few years), Adam Foote and Bryan Berard (to Columbus), Chris Pronger (traded to Edmonton, but still, the Leafs were nowhere near the bargaining table at any time), Eric Brewer and Jeff Woywitka (on the other end of the Chris Pronger trade), Mike Rathje and Chris Therien (to Philadelphia), former Leaf Danny Markov (traded to Nashville; also a proven sparkplug), Alexei Zhitnik (to the Islanders), Adrian Aucoin (to Chicago), and Mathieu Dandenault (to Montreal). Throw unsigned free agent Scott Neidermeyer into the mix, who isn't showing any interest in the Leafs anyway, and this is one seriously talented group of players. Not to mention that some - if not many - of them have showed even mild interest in playing in Toronto in the recent past. But not this year. We're just along for the ride at potentially the most pivotal time in NHL history. And this list is just the defencemen who were available.

On the other hand, Leafs management has indicated in the past they may be willing to sacrifice this upcoming season to go after potentially big name free agents next year. Like Joe Thornton (who will likely re-sign with Boston) or Jarome Iginla (who has re-signed with Calgary) or Marcus Naslund (who has also re-signed with Vancouver). Yup, good plan.

And then there's Peter Forsberg, who at one time also indicated interest in playing in Toronto with fellow Swede, Mats Sundin. That option was kicked in the teeth when Forsberg signed with Philadelphia and well known big-mouth Jeremy Roenick was subsequently traded to Los Angeles. I suppose we could revert to Plan B, but is anybody really sure what Plan A was?

And therein lies the problem. John Ferguson, the inexperienced GM of the Leafs, assured fans that a plan was in place to be competitive in the circus that has been NHL free agency. But when a doctor performs heart surgery, he replaces the old heart with a new one. On Monday, the old heart was taken out and has yet to be replaced with anything worth fighting for. A disgruntled Tie Domi who has given his team of choice every chance to make an offer worth accepting, a 80-year old goaltender who was good in his day but is too injury-prone now, a defensive core that has barely improved in four seasons, and a handful of less-than-sub-par players who accepted outrageous qualifying offers from Toronto because they knew they'd never get that much anywhere else. Sounds like a 25 win season to me with little hope of anything to get excited about beyond that.

So, at this point, the most attractive options on the table for the Leafs are players with head injuries: Eric Lindros and Jason Allison. If the rumours hold up, they'll sign Allison in the next day or two, and Lindros could wind up in TO or in Nashville within the same timeframe.

Usually, I don't like to be this cynical. But that's the beautiful thing about being a Leafs fan. You can rant and complain and cry all you want, and let everybody know how you feel even though they could probably care less, and still feel justified in your diatribe. But when management throws their line into the water and pulls up something nobody expected and it appears to be a good thing, you can claim the Leafs as "your" team. It's no longer "them" or "they" ( ... "they" screwed up ...); it's "us" or "we" ( ... "we" got a great deal or "we" made a great move ...).

One wonders if anyone, especially John Ferguson, knows exactly what the Leafs plan is now that almost everything worth pursuing has been accounted for. There are still a few treats out there, but they don't appear to be interested in a home in southern Ontario, and you can't really blame them after watching the Leafs watch everything else.

It's the peril of being a Leafs fan. Today, they suck. But tomorrow's a new day.