Why a Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Is Good For Hockey

The Toronto Maple Leafs are certainly a divisive franchise and hold the most passionate fans of any team around the league. Love them or hate them, a Stanley Cup victory would be great for the NHL and sport of hockey at large for these three reasons.

A New Era

Make no mistake about it, if the Maple Leafs are able to climb the mountain and achieve hockey glory, a new era of the NHL will come with it. This league is defined by its superstars and winning duos, a crown that has been shared by three significant pairings over the last decade: Crosby and Malkin in Pittsburgh, Toews and Kane in Chicago, and Ovechkin and Backstrom in Washington. Since 2009, these duos have accounted for seven Stanley Cups, six Conn Smythe trophies, five Hart Trophies, four Art Ross trophies, and ten Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophies. While all three duos still remain intact, Patrick Kane is the youngest at 32 years old, and none of them will be participating in the second round of the playoffs for the third year in a row. Over that span, they hold a combined eight playoff wins, five of which belong to the Capitals, two to the Penguins, and one to the Hawks. The future is looking bleak for all three duos as they enter the final stretch of their careers and their franchises are forced to deal with the consequences of fielding a competitive team for the better part of a decade.

While the league possesses younger dynamic duos like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in Colorado, and Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto, they are still yet to win anything substantial in their careers. In order to truly pass on the torch to the next generation of winning duos, these pairings must start to do just that! Win! Right now the league seems to be in limbo between these two generations, and while the Tampa Bay Lightning have a chance to sustain their winning ways, Florida isn't exactly the hockey capital of the world.

There is absolutely no question which duo resides in the best hockey market, and that's Matthews and Marner. The league is at its best when marketable star players are performing on the biggest stage, and that's what these two have the opportunity to bring to the table. It would increase eyes on a sport that has continuously failed to market itself and provide ESPN and TNT a relatively easy marketing strategy. It also helps that Matthews, while in the largest hockey market, comes from anything but. Being from Scottsdale, Arizona, and the first Leaf to ever lead the league in goals is already an amazing story, but if he can play a large role in delivering a cup to the Leafs for the first time since 1967? That's a storyline rich enough to officially welcome a new era of hockey.

The Ring Chasers and Campbell

If we zoom in and disregard the larger franchise storylines that include the series winning and Stanley Cup droughts, we will see equally compelling storylines for some of the veteran players on the team.

"Jumbo Joe" Thornton

Thornton is 41 years old and has zero Stanley Cups to his name. The 1997 first overall pick has amassed over 1,600 games and 1,100 points in the league but came up short in his only visit to the final when he and the Sharks fell to the Penguins in six games in 2016. This is a guy that has done it all: Olympic gold medal, World Junior Championships gold medal, Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy, captain of two NHL franchises, six-time NHL all-star, back-to-back 90 assist campaigns, and the Sharks all-time leader in assists. Now, in possibly the last year of his career, he is looking for that elusive first cup win to tie it all together.

Jason Spezza

Similar to Thornton, Spezza finds himself approaching the end of his playing days at 37 years old. He is approaching 1,000 career points and is the former captain of the Ottawa Senators and a two-time NHL all-star. After a long stint with the team that drafted him in Ottawa, Spezza had a five year stop with the Dallas Stars before coming to Toronto in 2019. Here is another guy looking at possibly his last chance to win the ultimate prize in hockey and ride off into the sunset. Just like Jumbo, he serves more of a leadership and mentorship role within the team and will be tasked with keeping the younger guys on track and avoiding panic in the dressing room when things get tough. Spezza is another good hockey guy that many around the league would love to see win.

Nick Foligno

The list goes on and on with the older guys looking to get their first Stanley Cup after much individual success and accolades earlier in their career. Foligno came over in a trade deadline deal from the Columbus Blue Jackets where he served as captain since 2015. He is approaching 1,000 games played and 500 points over the course of his thirteen year NHL career. Foligno is another ring chaser that would offer a feel-good moment for fans everywhere if he was able to hoist the cup.

Jack Campbell

Possibly the best story of them all would be the redemption of a once first round Dallas Stars draft pick who was pronounced a bust for the entirety of his career. Campbell took the winding road to the Maple Leafs, but has found his game this season while Frederik Andersen was nursing an injury. It's impossible not to like this guy if you watch an interview and his teammates adore him. Since making his NHL debut with the Stars in the 2013-14 season, he has spent the majority of his time playing in the AHL and ECHL. The Los Angeles Kings helped revive his career last year, but no one could've anticipated the type of numbers he has put up this season. After starting the season with 11 straight wins between the pipes, he has hardly skipped a beat. He has allowed a total of four goals in the four games against Montréal in the first round and allows the Leafs to play with confidence in front of him. His story is inspiring, making him yet another individual Leafs player to cheer on in the postseason.

Recent History

The Maple Leafs have not won a series since 2004, including the devastating three goal third period collapse against the Boston Bruins in game seven back in 2013. Tonight, the Leafs have a chance to close out against he Habs and move on to bigger and better things. Similar to the points made above with regards to Matthews and Marner, the Leafs overcoming and exorcising recent playoff demons is an excellent storyline in the largest market of them all. I cannot reiterate this enough: the league is at it's best when an original six franchise is winning, or better yet, they are all winning.

Beyond just the team itself is the lack of championships for the entire country. Canada is the home of hockey, but the last time a Canadian-based team won the Stanley Cup was in 1993 with the Montréal Canadiens. While it makes for funny jokes and lots of trolling online, seeing the cup return to Canada this season would add to the drama and historic nature.

Will they do it? It's certainly possible. I would argue they have the easiest road to the semi-finals of any team this year with the Habs and the Jets, but playoff hockey is tough. Without John Tavares, the Leafs must find a way to compensate for his two-way game and they must also lean heavily on the big guns, Matthews and Marner, to score big goals in the biggest moments. If Campbell continues his elite play and they get a few lucky bounces along the way, this just might be the year.

Follow Peter on Twitter @MuffinHockey and check out his articles at the Stanford Daily Newspaper and The Hockey Writers.