[ad_1]
Carlo Colaiacovo, the former Maple Leafs defenseman who now works for TSN Radio, needed only one sentence to distill what he witnessed the day before: “It’s stuffy work that’s the worst collapse.” of the team’s history.
A bubbling cocktail of expectations, circumstances and performance sparked a strong reaction from fans and observers alike after the Leafs lost Game 7 of their first-round series with the Canadiens on Monday night. It was the year Toronto was supposed to win… at least one playoff round.
Instead, Toronto fell apart after taking a 3-1 lead in the Top Seven series. The Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and they haven’t won a playoff round since 2004.
“The way they did it,†Colaiacovo said, “they allowed the fans’ emotions to drag on for a full week, just to finally break their hearts in the end, and in the worst possible way.â€
In the aftermath, The Athletic reached out to fans, alumni and broadcasters to look at the loss from 10 different perspectives.
Steve (Dangle) Glynn, Co-Host, The Steve Dangle Podcast
It was 11 a.m. Tuesday morning and Glynn was still hoarse. He was tired, defeated and admitted he had chicken nuggets for breakfast. He was a 33-year-old married dad, and the team he adored hadn’t won a playoff since he was a teenager.
“We are here at a crossroads,†he said. “I can’t be comfortable and I can never get excited about this team again until they qualify for the second round. They could go 82-0 next year. I do not care.
Glynn is the co-host of a Leafs-themed podcast named after him. During game 7 on Monday evening, his co-viewing event on Sportsnet’s YouTube channel attracted over 480,000 total clicks.
[ad_2]