Bryan McCabe blames Maple Leafs’ fans for “hardest year of his life”

Bryan McCabe has been in the NHL for nearly 30 years between his time as a player and an executive. For the past decade, he’s been in the front office of the Florida Panthers after playing for the franchise from 2008 to 2011, just after his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On the Spittin Chiclets podcast, McCabe spoke about the time in his career where he played for the Leafs and recalled how the last season with the club was the hardest year of his life. He openly blamed the fanbase for the way he felt. The former star defenseman explained how his tenure with the Maple Leafs ended on a sour note, especially because of fans’ reactions when he was on the ice.

“It was game seven of the regular season. I started to sense at the end of that last year, and they were starting to turn a little because we missed the playoffs again and the next year it hadn’t happened yet.

“Then we’re in Buffalo in overtime, it’s a 4-on-3 power-play for them. There’s four seconds left and ‘Razor’ [Andrew Raycroft] stops the puck.

“He comes to me at the front of the net and I’m boxing my guy out. I’m trying to whack it in the corner, and I catch it just right and hit both posts and I score the overtime winning goal on my own team!

“But as soon as it happened, I was front page of The Sun for three days, my wife still has the posting it says ‘Bryan McKlutz’.

“Then every time I went to touch the puck, the boo birds came out. It was misery; it sucked the life out of me.”

I get that a blunder on the ice can frustrate fans, but McCabe had been such an important player for the franchise. For the eight seasons he played with the Leafs for a total of 523 games, McCabe recorded 83 goals and 214 assists. It’s unfortunate to see that his most intense memory from his time in Toronto is negative.

On a positive note however, McCabe is now a Stanley Cup champion, winning the ultimate prize as the Panthers’ Director of Player Personnel this past summer.