Change in Toronto Maple Leafs Outlook Will Guide Team to 1st Cup Since 1967

After another season filled with false hope and mediocrity, it isn't the Toronto Maple Leafs players who should be blamed, it's ownership. 

While the firing of Randy Carlyle was initially looked upon to shake up the room en route to a playoff spot, Peter Horachek’s takeover turned Toronto’s season into a dumpster fire. With a 6-25-3 record following Horachek’s hiring, Leafs Nation has been hit with a blessing in disguise as the team finally heads towards a rebuild.

In a deep draft year highlighted by two potential superstars, the Leafs “tanking” may have happened too late. With the opportunity to draft Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel to be determined by a lottery, the chances of getting either franchise player is slim. 

Regardless of the possibility that a future superstar will be heading to Toronto, the narrative within this story is the fanbase. After being officially eliminated from the playoffs, the Leafs have now only made the playoffs once in the last 10 years. However, the Air Canada Centre has continued to sell out because the fans revolve around one four-letter word.

No, the word is not loss. It’s hope. 

The Leafs attendance may have been a season-low 18,366 in Monday's 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, but that number will rise again. Once the 2015-16 season starts, hope will fill the Toronto air and the thought of a jersey being thrown on the ice will be considered ludicrous again. 

The overtime loss in Game 7 of the 2012-13 playoffs gave the Leafs hope that they were a franchise on the rise. The signing of David Clarkson made Leafs fans think that the second coming of Wendel Clark had arrived. And last but not least, the hiring of assistant general manager Kyle Dubas has given fans optimism that the advanced stats guru will solve all puck possession and Corsi problems. 

The Leafs are the most valuable NHL franchise according to Forbes and have been so for nine straight seasons. Therefore that fairy tale hope that Leafs Nation has been holding onto for all these years has been just that. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has sat back and tweaked the system, instead of pursuing a desperately needed overhaul.  

Prior to an ownership change in August 2012, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan was the reason why a Leafs rebuild never happened. In a September 2012 article, The Globe and Mail's David Shoalts explained the previous ownership perfectly, saying:

"The Teachers' executives were a faceless group quite happy to milk the MLSE cash cow but felt no responsibility to answer to anyone, least of all the paying customers, for the repeated failures of its teams."

However, the current ownership finally feels like it's time to rebuild and transition toward future playoff success over immediate triumph. 

According to a report by The Globe and Mail's Cathal Kelly, the Leafs are beginning to come to terms with change:

“It will mean a new philosophy on building slowly through the draft and long-term projects, rather than quick fixes via trades for established players. It will mean at least three more years of pain for fans, and as many as five,” said Kelly. 

Now, in a position similar to the Chicago Blackhawks after their 2005-06 season, Leafs management needs to seize the opportunity the way they did.

During the Blackhawks' rebuild from 2003 to 2006, the team had already drafted or acquired Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp. After two terrible seasons that helped them draft Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks were able to build around these franchise players and win a Stanley Cup only four seasons later.

The Leafs are in somewhat of a similar situation with their young core players of Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and William Nylander. With those pieces in tact, another few seasons of disarray will only help the franchise as the team tries to build through the draft.

Losing is never fun, but the Leafs ownership has a rare situation in which the team could lose every game for the next 10 years and still find a way to sell out the building.

In a world where winning hasn't affected their bank account, it’s crazy to think that ownership has never tried to blow up the roster and rebuild. A sports franchise’s value is usually reliant on the team’s record, however, the Leafs are the exception. 

2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Leafs last Stanley Cup victory. If MLSE really buys into the rebuild, while also getting a few lucky breaks, ending that drought may be a realistic vision that season.

Well, Leafs fans can only hope.