Maple Leafs Are No Longer The Worst Franchise In Sports
Every year ESPN publishes ultimate standings that rank all franchises in the “Big 4” sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) from 1st to 122nd.Last year the Toronto Maple Leafs finished dead last in these rankings.
This was a punch to the gut as the team entered year one of the Shanahan rebuild. It was a reality check for the Toronto Maple Leafs as it showed how far they had fallen.
These were the rankings for the Maple Leafs last season:
Overall: 122
Title track: 120
Ownership: 115
Coaching: 38
Players: 122
Fan relations: 122
Affordability: 122
Stadium experience: 116
Bang for the buck: 122
Change from last year: 0
However, this year they handed the worst franchise title to the San Francisco 49ers. With a five-spot jump from 122nd to 118th, the Maple Leafs improved slightly as they try to exit out the bottom of the standings. Nonetheless, they were still ranked as the worst franchise in the NHL category.
Here rankings for the Maple Leafs this season:
Overall: 118
Title track: 100
Ownership: 93
Coaching: 18
Players: 112
Fan relations: 113
Affordability: 122
Stadium experience: 107
Bang for the buck: 121
Change from last year: +4
Slowly there have been improvements. Categories such as ownership, fan relations, and stadium experience have taken a jump for the better. Regardless there is still room for improvement in all categories, although with the price for tickets, the Maple Leafs will always seem to be at the bottom of the affordability standings.
The one thing that does stand out is coaching which is up from last year. After winning the World Cup of Hockey, Mike Babcock established once again why he’s the best coach in hockey. When it comes to the Maple Leafs he will have his plate full, but there’s no mistake that he’s the right guy to guide this ship.
Going forward the Maple Leafs as an organization still have ways to go. Slowly they have began to repair bridges with former players, now it’s time to focus on the loyal fan base.
This may never happen, but to repair fan relations the affordability of tickets needs to decrease. As of right now their average ticket price is $113.66 which means a family of four would have to shell out close to $500 to see a Maple Leaf game at the Air Canada Centre.
With the corporate types paying through the nose for these tickets, it results in empty seats and a lifeless atmosphere which affects the stadium experience and bang for the buck.
One step at a time, the Maple Leafs are still the worst franchise in the NHL according to ESPN. However, on the big list they are slowly moving up which can only be seen as a good thing, right?
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