Though it was a lot like a broken record for Maple Leafs fans, their disappointing qualifying-round exit this postseason felt like the last straw.
It was time for a shake up, and it looks like Kyle Dubas has delivered so far.
The young GM has shipped out some of the team’s younger players and replaced them with experience, and fans seem to like the additions of players like Bogosian, Simmonds, Brodie, and of course, Jumbo Joe Thornton.
The latter of those players, Joe Thornton, obviously feels the most significant. The first overall pick of the 1997 draft class took a pay cut to join his home-province Toronto Maple Leafs on a league minimum deal with a singular goal in mind.
Though Jumbo Joe has enjoyed almost every other success in hockey, he has yet to win the game’s ultimate prize: The Stanley Cup. Thornton’s career is obviously nearing it’s end, and his window to win a Stanley Cup is closing along with it. When talking to the media today, Thornton made it clear that his decision to join the Maple Leafs was largely based on one thing: winning a Stanley Cup.
He also explained how difficult the decision was to leave the Sharks, but his urgency to win lead him to Toronto.
Why does he think so, you might ask? Their obviously star-studded offense aside, Thornton is a big Freddie Andersen fan, and thinks he could make a significant difference.
Will this be the year that the Leafs finally break the first round curse? Jumbo Joe seems to think so. Let us know what you think @BarDown!
