Hey TML Fans....WAKE UP!!!!

[Joelewchar]

And they're off to another good start with a shutout to boot. Nothing wrong with optimism and dreaming, but that's all it is.....a dream.

Wake up please and smell the coffee. Stavros and Tannenbaum and Dryden and Quinn could care less about a Stanley Cup. As long as the corporate fannies keep filling the ACC seats, spending all those tax-paid shekels, feasting on those fancy hors d'hoevres, they will not spend seriously behind bringing Lord Stanley to T.O. for the first time in 35 years. 35 YEARS?!?!?! Yes, 35 years. I was 7 years old. How is it possible that in the 2nd biggest hockey mecca in the world (face it, Montreal is #1, they're the Yankees of the NHL) we have gone this long without it. Even Green Bay got back to the championship promised land before we did.

Be realistic. Here's the scenario they face. Spending an extra $10-$15 million in salaries might bring us a Cup, but how much more revenue would it mean for the franchise.....I do know that the answer is not even close to the extra amount they paid out. And the concept of eating into those precious profit margins just goes against the grain for a guy who started Knob Hill Farms. The Colorado's and Detroit's of this world have an entirely different take, right or wrong, but the end result is their fans will likely be parading Lord Stanley around in June.

So, wake up all you Leaf fans. Enjoy watching your hockey and your team, but keep those dreams where they belong. Reality is eons away.

P.S. To all those who disagree, your favorite player is probably Domi, in which case your opinions mean nothing anyway.

 

[Quest4Less]

The truth hurts...

...but it is still the truth.

Unfortunately as long as the seats get filled there is no reason to even try to win it all. Until the fans stop going nothing will change.

 

[shack]

Granted, the Leafs sell out and they make of a ton of dough and that is indeed the bottom line for the owners. However, I'm sure these guys could find ways to parlay a cup into even more $$$$ and they know that.

As for the management, winning a cup would enhance anyone's resume and would further their careers in the long run. Most of these guys have been athletes and on teams and they have that competitive nature in them, even if they can't display it on the ice like the players.

To say the owners and management don't care about winning a cup is silly.(I wouldn't be saying this if Ballard still owned them.) They have lots of motivation to do so. Maybe just to get all the critics off their backs.

Don't think that I bleed Maple Leaf blue, 'cause I don't. (Maybe I did as an adolescent in the 60's, but not now.) I'm just trying to be realistic.

 

[torex]

Shack you beat me to it!

As for the management, winning a cup would enhance anyone's resume and would further their careers in the long run. Most of these guys have been athletes and on teams and they have that competitive nature in them, even if they can't display it on the ice like the players.

To say the owners and management don't care about winning a cup is silly.(I wouldn't be saying this if Ballard still owned them.) They have lots of motivation to do so. Maybe just to get all the critics off their backs.

Both Quinn and Dryden bleed hockey being both former players,which means "they want to win",maybe Stavros does'nt care? ,which IMO I think he does!, nobody likes to lose!

Funny thing about a sport is "anything can happen" you never know?,there have been many teams that have made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs that were'nt favourites.

 

[Big Papa Smurf]

The thing that strikes me most from Leaf fans is they fail to realize that Tannenbaum and Stavros are minority owners in MLSE. The Teacher's pension fund owns almost 49% of MLSE and TD bank owns anywhere from 13%-20%. So whatever, Tannenbaum and Stavros want is irrelevant.

I understand that the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NHL and the NHLPA is up in a couple of years. MLSE has done the financially reponsible thing by not dishing out long term contracts that could possibly cripple the Leafs financially and competitively after a new CBA is agreed upon.

 

[Coach]

Well said Papa Smurf. Finally some reason. No one wants to win more than Quinn or Dryden. Hmm Final 4 , top 4 in the league , 100 points. You would think this team missed tha playoffs last year.
The teachers' own the place, it is their mandate to make $$$$.Period.

 

[Joelewchar]

Yeah but....

Gents, all valid points indeed.

But if they really really really really wanted it, they would, could and should be doing a hell of a lot more then they are doing now. Money doesn't necessarily buy championships (case in point, the Twins), but it goes a whole long way to improving your odds (case in point, the Lakers, the Yankees, the Red Wings, the Avalanche, and countless others).

What did the Leafs just score in the off-season, an old odd-ball goalie (hopefully he still has some life in him) and they resigned Domi. Woohoo, DOMI!!!! Doesn't sound like a dynasty building mentality to me.

I lived through Ballard. I hated Ballard. He robbed my generation of hockey in this city. As frustrating as it was, however, we knew he was a clown and we knew it was hopeless. The difference now is that the guys running the show are intelligent business men, who know better, but whose only desire is to field a competitive team and NOT a championship team. The sad part is that they could get away with even less and the damn lemmings would still be lining up.

 

[Big Papa Smurf]

It does suck for Leaf fans. 1967 is a long time to wait for a championship. However, there are certain things that MLSE has to consider before outlining a budget for the Leafs:

1) The ACC has not been fully paid for. Part of the revenue generated by MLSE is used to pay for the ACC. Once the ACC has been paid for, you are going to see a major shuffle in ownership. There have been rumours that Tannenbaum and Stavros will be in a bidding war over TD bank's stake in MLSE. TD bank has been wanting to sell their stake in MLSE for some time now. There have also been rumours that Rogers and BCE might purchase MLSE for broadcast rights.

2)The CBA between the NHL and the NHLPA will expire in a few more years. Adding long-term contracts to the Leaf's roster is a big risk if the current CBA is altered dramatically. There could be financial repercussions for MLSE if, lets say, there was a luxury tax introduced in the next CBA.

For example, the latest CBA agreed upon by the NBA and the NBPA has had a significant effect on the big spenders in the NBA. The New York Knicks, whose payroll is over $90 million, will be penalized $50 million because they exceeded the luxury tax threshold. Cablevision, which owns the Knicks, will then have to payout $140 million just because they spent ridiculous amounts of money on free agents just before the old CBA expired. This is why the Raptors let Keon Clark walk.

The Minnesota T-wolves signed Kevin Garnett to that massive contract (Garnett will be making $22 million this year and $27 million next year) before the old CBA expired and now the T-wolves cannot field a championship calibre team because the new CBA makes trades and signing free-agents extremely difficult and complicated.

3)MLSE has to pay the players in US funds. No one can predict what the Canadian dollar will be in the next few years.

4)The tax laws in Ontario are constantly changing. Just read into the recent news about the $10 million tax exemption that MLSE will not get. That has significant financial ramifications on how MLSE will operate.

 

[Coach]

Papa Smurf, I bow to your knowledge! Over the past few years the Leafs have had one of the BEST records in the league on the ice, and when it come sto signing free agents...Roberts,Corson,Cujo, Mogilny.Few teams could match that. They made huge offers to Cujo, Holik & Kasparitus, but money wasn't the reason they lost the players. The Rangers got 2 out of the 3 - what is their record the past 5 years....No Playoffs!! Cujo? The Leafs offered more than Detroit. You can't force players to sign . The Leafs are definitely not cheap. Have they made mistakes? Of course, but EVERY TEAM has! Would they like to win a cup? Of course.They are definitely trying. As Papa Smurf said, they have to pay off the ACC, other teams got lots of public $$, the Leafs financed it on their own ( incl Raptors). That's why the tickets are so high, becuase those "fat cat" corporations are paying for it. By the way, after last nights game, the bandwagon got a hell of a lot more crowded!

 

[tboy]

Well, I may take some heat for this but I have been a leaf fan for as long as I can remember. We've had ups, and we've had downs but you know what? Its great when we win, and no matter what, last year's regular season and especially the playoff run was some of the best entertainment I have ever seen.

They got the whole city riled up, the flags, the shirts, the bars loaded with patrons.....You can't ask for much more than they gave us and you know what? other than buying a jersey for $89.00 to show my support, all that entertainment cost me not ONE RED CENT!!! (not a cent, DIRECTLY I might add).

So not matter what they do, as long as they keep playing, keep entertaining, who really cares if they win the cup? As our own Don Cherry has said many times during the playoffs last year:

THAT"S great hockey!!!

 

[Kayla]

maybe Stavros does'nt care? ,which IMO I think he does!

.. wasn't Stavros the person who fought for the leafs in a long court battle that cost him a fortune?

I would say IMO that he does care - a lot.