Maple Leafs earn miserable grades from fans

The frustration from Maple Leafs fans everywhere has been palpable, especially after they once again failed to advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs while facing the Boston Bruins earlier this spring. But while there's been plenty of discussion of the performance of the players who suit up for the team, how do fans feel about management tasked with assembling said roster? 

Considering the lack of postseason success in the last two decades, it can't come as much of a surprise that the confidence Leafs fans have in their management was among the lowest of all 32 fan bases. In a recent survey from The Athletic, Toronto fan confidence is in the basement.

Overall, they came in 30th of the 32 NHL teams with a "D" ranking; their cap management scored a "D-", their overall vision a "D+", and free-agency scored a "C": 

"A lot of the league’s top contenders are where they are thanks in large part to savvy management. They maximize and optimize their team’s chances, giving their club the best shot to win that they can.

At the start of the Shanaplan, it certainly felt like the Leafs were one of those teams. It’s getting harder and harder to feel like Toronto is on the cutting edge given the lackluster playoff results over the last decade and some of the decisions made to get there. A lot of what the Leafs do feels safe, boring and bland. It’s as if the decisions are made via a focus group to minimize risk — hit a few singles instead of swinging for the fences." 

This current ranking has dropped three spots from last season, when Toronto fan confidence was ranked 27th overall. 

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