The Toronto Maple Leafs may have accumulated 13 Stanley Cups during their 80-year existence, but the dominant franchises that were once built on talent and team chemistry are now a forgotten memory.
The current goal is still success, but it is of a different kind: financial success.
Front office minds don't trouble themselves with assembling championship contenders, especially not when ticket sales continue to be snapped up at a pace on par with franchises who actually win in the playoffs, like the New York Yankees and New England Patriots.
Win or lose, the Leafs sellout the Air Canada Centre, so why put in all the arduous work of pinpointing the right coach to mesh with the appropriate mix of players?
That takes too much time. And plus, it is much easier to conjure up a false sense of hope.
Those who bleed the blue and white dote on the Maple Leafs so much that they have lost all touch with reality.
And now that the spring playoff races are heating up, you can frequently hear delusional comments from Leafs fans that make the average crack addict seem like a sagacious individual.
"If the Leafs could just make it in to the playoffs ... you never know..."
"If the Leafs land eight place, they can make the second round since they have Ottawa's number…"
It's simple to instill a little bit of hope in the mind of a Leafs fan. Sign a couple of over-the-hill veterans to overgenerous contracts (a la Jeff O'Neill or Ed Belfour), perform well on "Hockey Night in Canada," and win 60% of your home games.
But as naïve as the enthusiastic followers are, one might wonder if the leaders are any more intelligent.
You see, for anyone who can count from one to five, and recognizes which way "up" is, it is pretty clear that the Maple Leafs need to rebuild.
Not the typical renovation or a minor tinkering — from top to bottom, the Leafs need the NHL equivalent of "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy." The question remains: is management is cognizant of the situation?
The perfect blueprint has been on display in Anaheim, where general manager Brian Burke has shipped away expensive, non-contributing veterans like Sergei Federov and has begun the extensive youth movement.
Meanwhile, the Leafs had the opportunity to begin the reconstruction process at the trade deadline, but front office instead chose to remain stagnant.
Mats Sundin, who proved his worth during the Olympic Games for the gold medal-winning Swedes in Torino, could have been a valuable ingredient for a Stanley Cup contender, but instead, with linemates like Chad Kilger, will continue to clog up the Leafs' salary cap. Offensive-minded defenseman Bryan McCabe, who will likely walk as a free agent at the end of the season, also commanded interest from many possible suitors, but the Leafs couldn't finalize any deal.
And you have to wonder if a savvy goaltender like Ed Belfour (who at the time was healthier than he is now) could have returned some form of a draft pick to the Leafs, especially since untested backup Mika Noronen was traded for a second-round pick and Dwayne Roloson was acquired for a first-round pick.
Those decisions would likely make sense to Burke, or to any team that is under construction, but clearly they don't make sense to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Maybe it's because the process of tearing down the house will finally burst the bubble of false hope and rouse the hypnotized fans from their deep slumber.
Regardless, as long as there is plenty of bread to go around in the organization, there will never be that hunger from inside to win the Stanley Cup.
The Toronto Maples Leafs and the Stanley Cup mix like Mondays and me.
"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." — Douglas Adams
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