Game In 1: Game 77, Leafs 0 vs. Hurricanes 3

by Mislav Jantoljak on March 27, 2012 in Post Game - 289 Comments

Boxscore

1. I love the Leafs, I’ll probably never stop loving the Leafs. That said, for me to believe in a group of players, they have to show up. This group of players had a lot of chances to show up, they didn’t. As a fan, I can deal with almost anything – just don’t play without heart. Leafs Nation doesn’t deserve you playing without heart. I love the Leafs, and believe in the Leafs rebuild, but I don’t believe in this particular group. We’re a young team, a developing team, but there are issues beyond that. Changes in personnel need to be made.

We have pieces but if those pieces have no one to learn from, no one to show them how to consistently perform in this league, you can’t fault them for failing. Injuries aside, everything is pretty clear. Leafs being a bubble team, not a good enough team to make this year’s playoffs, isn’t news.

A rebuild is indeed in progress, the team still needs to grow. That said, as a fan as well as a person, I have never accepted giving up and sadly, that is exactly what this group of players did. I certainly hope the pick is worth the pride. Romanticized as it might sound, sports aren’t about losing to be better in the future (which is what the pick should mean, I’m well aware of that) – I will never accept that. If it’s a good pick, I’ll make my peace with it, but I’ll never accept it.

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