It seems the Toronto Maple Leafs can escape the limelight. First it’s the team. Then it’s their fans. Then it’s their team again. Back to their fans. And back and forth we go. Earlier this week, the team made a bold statement to the fans.
After beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 at home, the Leafs did the customary skate towards their goalie and congratulated their goalie on the victory. However, that’s when things took a unusual twist. Instead of the normal skate to center ice and salute the fans with their sticks to show appreciation, they exited stage right and skipped the tradition.
Was it a “snub” or break in tradition? Many of the players tried to downplay the incident and say it was unintentional, they wanted to change things up, and didn’t want to offend anyone. But deep inside, I have a feeling they wanted to make a statement to everyone associated with Maple Leafs hockey that they weren’t going to take it anymore.
Eyes On Isles
After a couple of incidents of jerseys being thrown on the ice and criticism from the Toronto-based media, I believe the team wanted to make sure their message was loud and clear. They weren’t going to sit back, be the nice guy, and accept the scrutiny. Whether it was Phil Kessel or Dion Phaneuf that wanted to break from tradition and salute, the fact is they made their presence felt. It’s certainly better than a player blowing up at somebody, don’t you agree? Personally I have no problem with it.
The Maple Leafs have become the “butt” of numerous jokes and their performance has been laughable by most NHL fans. But, the final straw that broke the camel’s back may have come from the people who follow them.
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So was their ”no-show salute at center ice” a slight on the team? No. I think they had every right to do that. It’s not like they are tanking in the standings. They are above .500 and it’s 20 games into the season.
I certainly do not expect this to be a regular occurrence. It’s more of a “reactionary” incident to what’s been happening to the team recently. It will be interesting how the Leafs and its fans will be moving forward. If this happens again, it’s going to be Armageddon in Toronto that Vancouver couldn’t even rival.
Writer’s update: Following the Maple leafs 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday, the team skated to center ice and did the traditional salute to the fans. After much criticism (shock) from their “no-show” on Wednesday night, they obliged the crowd by raising their sticks in the air. Here is a video highlighting the Leafs triumphant win and acknowledging the fans compliments of NHL.com: