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NEWS > SPORTS > TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS JUST FINE WITH NOT WINNING STANLEY CUP
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS JUST FINE WITH NOT WINNING STANLEY CUP
October 6 2009
Toronto, Canada – There are few championships as revered and venerable as the Stanley Cup. Dating from 1893 the ultimate prize in hockey has become the Holy Grail for millions of young hockey players and fans around the world. Because of that 
history many a professional career is defined by whether or not one has won the cup. Some teams have sipped from Lord Stanley’s cup many times, while others have languished with their lips never coming close.
One of those teams is The Toronto Maples Leafs which has done without sipping from the cup for over forty years. One of the oldest teams in league and possessed of one of the most loyal fan bases in sport, the Leafs have languished in their efforts to once again hoist the cup. Though the team has won the second most championships in league history, their drought has continued unabated with little hope for redemption. Now only a few games into the newest season the trend seems to have continued, something continuing to outrage fans but not really concerning the team who have finally come to terms with their drought and are completely comfortable with never again winning the cup.
“We understand the frustration of the fans and their incredible loyalty to our team but
we have come to a simple and obvious conclusion and we might as well be open about it. We have been trying for decades to win the cup and we haven’t had much success so we are going to give up trying and place our focus on more achievable goals for the foreseeable future,” said Leafs GM Brian Burke. “We’ll still put a team on the ice, dress the right number of players and give it our all but we are no longer looking to win the cup. We will leave that pursuit to other teams. The Leafs have stood as the most venerable franchises in the NHL and we would like to step aside and allow younger teams to have a chance at glory.”
The Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks are the only team from the Original Six that have not won the Stanley Cup since the 1967 expansion. The Blackhawks, despite the winning history of their town, have not suffered the same level of criticism or attention for their lack of success.
“It’s rare that a team comes out as honestly as the Leafs have done and just admit that they aren’t looking to win. Other great franchises like the New York Knicks and the Chicago Cubs seem to pretend that they are trying but of course fall far short virtually every year and so it’s obvious they aren’t making significant effort,” said Scrape TV Sports analyst Mark Marvins. “You really have to hand it to the team and their management. It’s been pretty obvious to outsiders for years that they aren’t really trying but putting it out there, voicing it, takes a great deal of courage and speaks to the integrity of the franchise and the people behind it.”
Despite decades of failure, the Leafs regularly sell out every game and are ranked as the top valued franchise in the league.
“The question now is what are they going to do if they aren’t going after the cup? I 
mean they have 82 games every season and they are going to have to at least make an effort in those. The problem will be if they win too many. That may thrust them into the playoffs and suddenly remind fans that there is at least a possibility of winning the cup, which could cause a lot of problems,” continued Marvins. “The best thing to do would be to trade away any talent they have and just downgrade the team. They don’t want to go too far because players could get hurt if they are too inexperienced but if you go the other way you could get people’s hopes up again and start this whole vicious cycle over again.”
The team is also reportedly weighing and increase in ticket prices, already the highest in the league, for next season.
Alexi Orton, Sports Correspondent
NEWS > SPORTS > TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS JUST FINE WITH NOT WINNING STANLEY CUP
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