The Leafs blew it. After decades of being a laughingstock, they've graduated to being an average NHL team and...no one cares. Demographics have changed. The sporting public has moved on. Entire generations of kids born in the GTA - and immigrants coming to this region - have associate nothing but failure with the Leafs. They've lost most of them forever.

There will always be the older fans who will remain loyal for their own bizarre reasons. They're slowly dying off though.

No more evidence is needed than these comment boards. A few years ago there would have hundreds of comments posted for this article, equal numbers from both sides of the fence. Now, it's clear very few care any more.