Chris Fowler puts Toronto Maple Leafs on blast during Expansion Draft coverage (Video)
Chris Fowler #ChrisFowler
Chris Fowler poured a dump truck of salt on the wounds of Toronto Maple Leafs fans during his coverage of the NHL Expansion Draft.
If it’s “Too Soon” to take digs at the Maple Leafs after a playoff collapse, Chris Fowler didn’t get the memo.
While hosting ESPN’s coverage of the NHL Expansion Draft, Fowler stuck in the knife and twisted for good measure as he discussed Toronto’s futility.
“A strong regular season kind of forgotten as they blew the 3-1 lead to Montreal. They have the longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history. It’s going to be about 20,000 days,” Fowler said.
Leafs fans who tuned in for the expansion draft can go cry on their own now.
The postseason has been a nightmare for Toronto for more than half a century. They last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and they haven’t come close since. A strong recent run hasn’t changed the script. Despite making the playoffs each of the last five seasons, they have not made it out of the first round.
The 2021 playoffs were supposed to be different. They finished the regular season first in the North division. Then they took a 3-1 lead over the Montreal Canadiens. Three elimination games later, they were out of the postseason.
The franchise has now lost seven straight playoff series going back to 2004. They have lost their last eight games that could have eliminated their opponent. The psychological weight of those facts is heavy enough without ESPN hammering the point home.
There’s always next season?
Whatever they do in 2021-22, they’ll have to do it without forward Jared McCann, who was the Seattle Kraken’s selection in the expansion draft.
Given the early success of other recent expansion teams, Leafs fans may wonder if the Kraken will win a playoff series before them.