MAHER, BARNABY EXAMINE THE LEAFS
By: Stephen Lylyk, RP Show Intern
“I’ve come to expect it with the Leafs. Same thing every year.”
Those words came from a Toronto Maple leafs fan during an interview with Global News following the team’s 2021 playoff loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
It’s also a rather fitting way to describe an organization that’s been a roller-coaster of disappointment ever since their 1966-67 Stanley Cup victory.
The 2022-23 edition of the Leafs extended their losing streak to four games with a loss Sunday night in Anaheim. On Monday’s Rod Pedersen show NHL alumnus Matt Barnaby discussed Toronto’s struggles.
“You lose to Montreal, you lose to Arizona, and Anaheim. These are BAD hockey teams,” Barnaby shrugged. “Really bad hockey teams. You should be rolling through these teams. Not playing down to their level.”
This current day Maple leafs core has spent the last few years building a history of postseason failure. Since the 2017-18 season the Leafs has lost the decisive game of each year’s first round series.
Hall of Fame Sportscaster Peter Maher – the Voice of the Leafs from 1977-1981 – gave his take as to why these leafs have consistently fallen short during his Monday appearance on the Rod Pedersen show live at Calgary’s Grey Eagle Resort & Casino.
“They just don’t seem to have the right drive, and you really have to wonder if things will turn around. You just wonder about the character of that team,” Maher observed.
The Leafs history of disappointment isn’t just defined by playoff heartbreak. While fans would like more playoff success, there was a time where any appearance in the playoffs was thought of as positive.
Following the success of the 1960’s leafs (4 Stanley Cup victories) the following two decades were defined by the ownership of one Harold Ballard.
A quote from a 1990 Macleans article by Patricia Chisholm perfectly describes this era of franchise history.
As Chisholm writes “During the 18 years Ballard controlled every aspect of the business, he was frequently criticized for allowing the team to slide into mediocrity…. Under Ballard’s leadership, they slid from being a frequent contender to a demoralized losing team.”
As a broadcaster during the Ballard era, Maher was witness to many stories which emphasized the chaos of the franchise. One of which involved then head coach Roger Neilson.
“There was a game in Montreal on a Thursday night. After the game Ballard fired Roger on the charter flight back to Toronto,” Maher remembered. “The next day the GM called and said ‘can you get Roger to be the color [commentator] the rest of the season? Anyways [Roger] calls me back that Friday and he said ‘yeah I can do it I’m all set.’ Then he called me at night and said ‘there’s a chance I may be back coaching tomorrow.”
The story goes even deeper as reporter Brian Westland explains in a 2020 article with Fansided.
“Ballard decided to issue a reprieve to Neilson (following the pleas of his players) under one condition: Neilson would have to wear a ski mask, or bag over his head as he took the bench the following game.”
Neilson was able to get out of wearing the paper bag and would finish the year with the Leafs. However following a second round loss to the Montreal Canadiens Neilson was fired, and the story of the paper bag would become that of team legend.
In summary, while through chaotic ownership, or repeated episodes of playoff heartbreak the Toronto Maple leafs have built a well earned 55 year legacy of disappointment.
However, as Brian Conacher (member of the 67 Leafs Stanley Cup winning team) advised Leafs fans in a 2021 interview with Global news, optimism should remain even through the struggles.
“I tell [fans] to keep the faith,” explained Conacher. “The World lives on hope…The Raptors did it, so I feel the Maple leafs are due sooner rather than later.”
