It is September 23, and my blood pressure is already rising as the preseason gears up. Being a Leafs fan is a lifestyle of endurance, and here we are again. Today, we have a split-squad exhibition nightmare with Toronto taking on Ottawa twice, but let’s be honest: these preseason games don’t count for a single point in the standings. It is just another chapter in the long, agonizing book of cautious hope.
Yesterday, the league saw a flurry of exhibition activity, including Boston taking down Philly 5-1 and Detroit’s 7-4 win over Pittsburgh. Seeing those scores, I just wonder when the Leafs will finally break their 1967 drought and give us something real to cheer about. Instead, we are dissecting training camp battles and roster moves, waiting for the inevitable emotional rollercoaster that comes with October. We have had our fun with free agency and the draft, but until the banner hangs from the rafters—a dream that feels perpetually out of reach—it is just more of the same. The rest of the league is skating, the preseason is here, and I am sitting here, as always, waiting for the Leafs to prove me wrong.