As a life long leaf fan who was too young to appreciate the 90's leafs, and became a hardcore fan after the 2005 lockout, I've seen management trade away one promising player, after another, after another, and trade all our picks, after another. 2nd's for nobodies, 4ths for guys who couldn't get a contract in the NHL after, etc.
I've seen us go through an entire roster change. I've seen us win trades, I've seen us lose trades. I've seen us be the joke of the league most of the time, I've seen us make the playoffs and beat the Habs really badly that one time (the highlights of my fandom so far).
I've been frustrated at not having the supporting cast to help Kessel and Phaneuf, who were good players in their own way, but not good enough for us to win with. I've been frustrated with multiple GM's who didn't think they needed to rebuild, frustrated with mind boggling draft selections, etc.
This was one of the hardest seasons ever for me, after last year. I want us to win. I won't ask for first over all. All I ask, is that for the first time in my life, the leafs seem to have competent management.
Please hockey gods, gift us a top 2 selection so we may for once experience what's it's like to draft our own franchise player. Gift us hope that some day, we will be competitive, and the chirping with other fans will actually mean something.
Make the leafs great again.
#PatrikLaine2016
