Now, the Maple Leafs’ slow start to the season is not a strange occurrence, nor is the annual pressing of the panic button as the team fights to stay above .500 in the early stages of the season. The reality is that if you take a market as large as Toronto and take into account how starved the fans are for a Stanley Cup, the noise will be much louder when things go bad, especially considering how deep they are in the current era.
“The Leafs are a huge part of hockey, in the NHL and obviously in Canada,” Berube told reporters. “There’s a lot more talk and a lot more noise. We talked about that today as well. I mean, you guys are going to do your job, and there’s a lot of people that are going to talk. The Leafs are big, there’s going to be a lot of talk about it.”
Ask any Leafs player and they’ll tell you that while they appreciate the pressure that comes with playing in one of, if not the biggest, market, blocking out the noise and staying focused on the task at hand is key to getting out of these slumps. Head coach Craig Berube echoed that sentiment.
“You have to end that as best as possible and concentrate on what you have to do. Night in and night out, during training, you have to concentrate. It is much more, we know that. It is the nature of the beast.”
Despite the dire situation the Leafs currently find themselves in, spirits were high during practice, which Berube said is positive.
“I think the guys worked. They had pretty good energy, and that’s good,” Berube said. “Things aren’t going well right now. You can come to practice a lot today and everyone’s hanging their heads and kind of going through the motions. I didn’t see that today, and that’s good. The guys had energy, worked hard and did what we asked of them.”
The Maple Leafs visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night before returning home for a pair of home games, first against the St. Louis Blues and then against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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