I got no stress, man

Early this season when asked about whether he was feeling pressure to perform as a Maple Leaf, Jumbo Joe Thornton famously replied “I got no stress, man, honestly”.

Sheldon Keefe recently cited that line when talking about the upcoming Leafs vs Habs playoff series, and honestly I am right there with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this team. I want them to win. I have been a fan since I was about 5, so call it 49 years now. Their last Stanley Cup was won 133 days before my birth, so even at almost 54 I have never seen them actually win. But I got no stress man

I lived through the Ballard years. I watched through the Stavros years, and heard how Gretzky wouldn’t improve ticket sales so we didn’t need him. I lived through the Teacher’s Union years where all that mattered was profit. I survived the JFJ and Burkie years where we were “just one piece away!” But I got no stress man

I am confident in this team. They are far and away the most talented, and probably the most balanced, Leafs team in my lifetime. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, how could you ask for a more talented top 4? Defense has been bought into by everyone, and Brodie, in particular, has helped solidify the core itself. We have Jack Campbell playing a career year in net, and all the ridiculous hate aside having Freddie behind him is unreal riches. But I got no stress man

How can I have no stress? We’ve waited SO long. We’ve suffered SO much.

It’s not hard. There are some key things to remember.

Hockey is a game.

It isn’t my life, and before you say you’re “more invested than me” think about what that might say about your life rather than what it means about me lol. I desperately want the Leafs to win. To quiet the naysayers. To feel that moment of victory, and as a fan that is a very real thing. I am not much of a baseball fan truth be told, but I jumped off my couch and screamed when Joe Carter hit that game winning home run! But at the end of the day it is a game. It is entertainment.

The Stanley Cup is Hard to Win

The Stanley Cup playoffs are 2 months of grinding hockey, played nearly every other night (this year even has back to backs). It is grueling and out of 16 teams that have the privilege to play for it one will come out victorious.

Even the favourite to win doesn’t have good odds to win. Think about that. Dom’s model is the highest I have seen for ANY team to win and I think he has the Avalanche at around 40% which is crazy high. Unheard of high in my recollection. But if you think about that, it also means that he has them at better than even odds to lose. Every team playing right now is more likely to lose than they are to win the cup.

Not winning the Stanley Cup does not make my favourite team bad. It doesn’t make anyone’s favourite team bad. In fact the odds are very good right now that they will not win. So why stress?

Why would I bet my happiness on losing odds?

My Rules to Enjoying Playoff Hockey

1. Don’t get overly confident. Running around acting like the Leafs winning a game, round or the cup is a foregone conclusion is a recipe for disaster. You are setting yourself up to have to eat crow. Every NHL player is a very good hockey player, one of the best in the world. Every NHL team consists of NHL hockey players. Discounting any team is not a good idea. Trash talking can be fun, just don’t be an idiot about it setting yourself up for the derision that accompanies being wrong.
2. Don’t waste time with “what ifs?” Yes, our top 4 could very well get injured in the first fifteen minutes of the first game of the playoffs. We could lose Jack and Fred. Jack and Fred, and Hutch for that matter can completely lose their games and stink out the joint. Monkey’s might also fly out my ass, but I am going to guess the chances of any of those things happening aren’t great. IF they happen, I will readjust and deal with it, because as the old saying goes “shit happens”. There is zero upside to being nervous, let alone pessimistic. Don’t waste your energy.
3. Playoff series can be 7 games long. Every team, every year, loses a game somewhere along the line to a team they shouldn’t lose to. Don’t freak out when that happens. Nothing is worse than watching chicken little fans. We saw enough of that with the Leafs horrendous slip this year where they went such a horrible 1–4–0 (which they followed up by going 9–0–1 and preceded with a 7–2–1 record). This team went 35–14–7 with a .698 points percentage. Even win/loss that is 35–21 for a .600 winning percentage. You don’t win every game, don’t make losses bigger than they are.

I got no stress, man, honestly

I watch hockey to be entertained, I can be emotional sure, but I save my real emotions for things that are more important to life than a game. Do I want my beloved Maple Leafs to hoist the cup? Of course, why bother watching otherwise? Will I be crushed if they don’t? Nope. I honestly won’t even be crushed if the Habs somehow bounce them in the first round, as unlikely as that is it is still a possibility. Why? Because it is a game, it is something I watch for entertainment, and the end result has no bearing on my actual life.

I find this makes hockey more enjoyable for me honestly. I still feel the anxiety of a close game at the end, I still feel the let down when they get eliminated and the year is finally done, heck I tend to stare at the screen hoping there was a mistake, or there needs to be a review lol, but that feeling is fleeting. A day later I brush it off, look at the positives to take away from the season and move on. There have been a lot of positives to take away since Shanny and co took over, so that helps.

Anyway, Go Leafs Go!