Can Maple Leafs Fans Be Blamed for Being Sentimental?

Something about a reader’s response to the Matthew Knies-Kirill Marchenko trade caught my attention. It wasn't really the conclusion about the trade. That's hockey talk. Marchenko might be the more complete player right now. Knies might still have more room to grow. Toronto gave up a good young player to get another. Fair enough.

What caught my attention was the last part. “I hope Knies does well in Columbus. But I hope Marchenko does better in Toronto.” That makes perfect sense and sounds pretty familiar.

Maybe Toronto fans are a little more sentimental about their players than they like to admit.

Being sentimental is not necessarily a bad thing. Knies wasn't in Toronto long enough to become a Maple Leafs legend. But he became the sort of player fans could see themselves liking. Big body. Physical game. Willing to go to the difficult areas. Still developing. Maybe, someday, he could have become a captain.

So when he gets traded, the reaction isn't necessarily anger at the trade. Sometimes it's just, “I hope the kid does well.” That's a different thing. And there is something else interesting here. Maple Leafs fans seem to be rooting for the same kind of player in both cities.

They want Knies to succeed in Columbus because of what he represents. They are excited about Marchenko in Toronto because of what he might represent. Size. Skill. Competitiveness. A player who can make something happen when the game gets difficult.

Those aren't identical players, of course. Marchenko already has a more developed offensive game, while Knies is still figuring out exactly how much hockey is inside that big frame. But the attraction is similar.

Does this hint at what Toronto fans have been looking for?

Not just stars. Not just points. Players who seem to belong to the game when it gets hard. And this is where I think fans and management sometimes see a trade differently.

A general manager has to look at the player coming in and the player going out. The fan remembers the player. The fan remembers the first goal. The big hit. The playoff shift. The time a young player suddenly looked like he belonged.

That's why, as a Maple Leafs fan, you can believe Marchenko is the right player for the team and still hope Knies has a terrific career in Columbus. There's no contradiction there.

Maybe that's one of the nicer things about being a hockey fan.

You can cheer for your team to win a trade without needing the other guy to fail. And maybe, just maybe, Toronto fans aren't quite as cold-blooded about their players as the business of hockey sometimes requires. The business of hockey says players are assets, while fans remember them as people and players they came to care about. That’s the very definition of sentimental.