Toronto Maple Leafs and the Theme of Consistency
The Leafs have certainly been consistent with their lack of success for the past 48 years - not a single Cup, not a single appearance in the finals, one lonely little individual award of any significance (to Little Dougie Gilmour a couple of decades ago). In short, they've been consistently awful.
Where they have been inconsistent, however, is in their dealings with players. We've seen the absolutely ridiculous contracts that Leaf management BELCHED up to characters like Phaneuf, Kessel, Clarkson, Komisarek, etc. (not to mention Horton) - contracts that effectively KILLED any potential (remote though it might be) for success, contracts SO wretched that they forced the Leafs to blow everything up and start all over from scratch.
Now, they're fighting to get Bernier to take a pay cut. In itself, this is not that laughable, since Tie Game Bernier is not exactly what you'd call an elite goaltender. To give him some credit, though, he and Reimer were the main reasons that this hopelessly inept squad was able to win even SOME games in the last few years. Toronto was badly outplayed almost ALL the time but the goalies were sometimes able to save the bacon. Meanwhile, someone like KADRI - who just had the worst season of his career, who was suspended by his own team, and who with good reason was publicly criticized by Shanny - received a 33% raise (from 3 to 4 million per year). Not exactly CONSISTENT if you compare the Kadri situation to the Bernier one. The Leafs continue to be a complete embarrassment to the sport and to the nation.
Having said all that, believe me: Bernier is the LAST person I would ever choose for "Jeopardy". How's his general knowledge, you ask? Two words: Nelson Mandela.
