This is bittersweet. I think it's excellent to have a Canadian player join a Canadian team in free agency, something they're generally allergic to because Canadian hockey players are usually BIG FUCKING PUSSIES who don't really love their country enough to live and work in it. They can't fuck off to Dallas or Tampa or Raleigh fast enough. And obviously, it's eye-popping to see a Leafs top six with Matthews, Tavares, Marner, and Nylander. Toronto and Montreal are the dual centres of the hockey universe and the NHL is a better place when the Maple Leafs and/or Canadiens are dominant. It restores the world to order.
That being said, this is a steel-toed kick in the dick to the Islanders, who were finally getting things back on track with new ownership, Lou Lamoriello at GM, Barry Trotz at head coach, the reigning rookie of the year in Matthew Barzal, and a gradual exit from the horror show that was the Barclays Center. Just as it's important for the Leafs and Habs to be good, a contending Isles team is also good for the league: their fans are something else and are one of the unique institutions of sports as far as the geographical restriction of the fanbase. The dog and pony show Tavares and Brisson put everyone through, not to mention Tavares's insistence on not being traded at the deadline, really fucked the Isles and gave them no backup plan. I hope the Leafs' first game at Long Island is a Nassau game. What fun that will be.
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Molly Lambert wrote:
The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.