Taxing The Rich

WHEN A Toronto newspaper reported last month that league governors were talking informally about putting a second NHL team in the city—a story commissioner Gary Bettman trashed—it made some wags wonder once again, When will Toronto get a first NHL team? The Maple Leafs last won a Stanley Cup in 1967 and have not made the playoffs since the NHL's 2004--05 lockout. Yet on-ice ineptness hasn't smudged their bottom line: They've sold out every game since Oct. 31, 2002 (average ticket price this season is $76.15); they're one of only two NHL teams to sell personal seat licenses; they have highly profitable local TV deals; and for the third straight year Forbes has named them the NHL's most valuable franchise, estimating their worth at $448 million.

For now at least Leafs Nation is being rewarded for its loyalty. Despite a roster that resembles that of an expansion team, Toronto turned hard work and a flurry of shots on goal into a creditable 5-4-3 record through Sunday that included a win in Detroit over the Stanley Cup--champion Red Wings, a shootout victory in New Jersey that featured 48 shots in regulation against Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, and an impressive 5--2 win last Saturday over the Eastern Conference--leading Rangers.

Credit Ron Wilson, the veteran coach in his first season in Toronto, for opening a window on the Leafs' musty air of entitlement. He has juggled lines and lineups, at times not dressing Toronto's highest-priced forward, Jason Blake, or veteran Matt Stajan. Wilson even pulled his No. 1 goaltender, Vesa Toskala, in favor of Curtis Joseph in a shootout loss against the Ducks because of Toskala's subpar record in shootouts. (Chastened and better prepared, Toskala stoned three of four New Jersey shooters last week.) Said Wilson, "We're just holding them responsible for their performance. If they're not adhering to the minimum standard I set, they won't play. It's not an issue of who they are, how much they earn or how big a fan club they have."

Wilson's fan club should be moving to bigger quarters soon.

The Pop Culture Grid
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