Summer is winding down and, like many NHL fans, I’ve begun to quietly build up some excitement for the season that’s on its way. I have some scars remaining from last year’s unfulfilled hope, but I’m ready to get hurt again. No matter what happens I will love and cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I was the biggest Mitch Marner fan you ever met, until the moment he became a Golden Knight.

“Thanks for everything Mitch, now get bent because you’re not on my favourite team.”

Is that harsh? Hardly, given the state of the world. I’d argue that I’m down right wholesome in my steadfast loyalty to the Blue’n’White. There has been much written already about Mitch’s departure, the acrimony and the elation. Who cares? It’s over. Frankly I’m shocked the Leafs managed to get any sort of deal done. Given the very public breakup, I think the deal really underscores how deeply involved in tampering the Golden Knights were. Again, who cares?

The Maple Leafs needed to change the mix and they have. The need was obvious, to succeed in Today’s NHL a team needs to be maniacal bullies and, for whatever else he brings to the table, viscously deranged Mitch Marner is not.

I don’t want to spend a bunch of time talking, or thinking, about the defending Stanley Cup champions. Their deep rooted ties to the NHL head office is well documented. Their willingness to cheat at the game the supposedly love, their eagerness to harm others, their refusal to acknowledge any sort of accountability. These things are known. The fact that one of their players was suspended for literal steroid use, to then return to play in the playoffs… whatever.

It’s not the Florida Cheetah’s fault, they are a symptom of the larger issue. It is that issue I want to write about.

The NHL is a farce, a joke of a league, and hockey deserves so much better.

You’re probably going to shrug off my critique as a bitter fan who’s sick of watching his team lose. You’re probably right, but that doesn’t make me wrong. Let’s look at some facts that support my argument.:

Have you ever tried to watch an NHL game on TV? It’s really hard. You need at least 2 different subscriptions and even then you might miss some games for… reasons. In 2025 there is simply no excuse for this. The problem isn’t that there isn’t interest or that the tech is out of reach. The problem is that the myopic fossils running the league are so scared of the future that they refuse to acknowledge it’s here already. The NFL and the NBA both have dedicated streaming services where fans can pay to watch their favourite sport, can you imagine? It’s so bad that Major League Soccer is going to pass the NHL in North American market share before the decade is through. You read that correctly, a sport we don’t even name properly is going to overtake the NHL in terms of viewership and fan engagement. How embarrassing.

What about the rules? Do you know the rules of hockey? I guess it depends on when you’re watching right? What the actual fucking hell!!! That’s the truth though. The rules of the league are dynamic, they change based on time of year and time in the game. It’s absurd, it’s frustrating, and it’s dangerous. I’ve heard the argument made that if referees called the game by the rules there would be 30 penalties a game. SO WHAT!!! Call the game by the rules and if one team is breaking the rules all the time then that team will face the actual consequences as per the RULES!!!

I’m getting worked up just thinking about it.

It’s not just frustrating for fans who want to know what to expect, it’s dangerous for the human people who are playing. At least the league has a Department of Player Safety to make sure the players are protected, right? WRONG! Forget that the current director was a long time “goon” for the Florida Cheetah’s. The man (George Paros) also owns an apparel company called VIOLENT GENTLEMAN. This man is not concerned with protecting people through institutional procedures, he just threatens people into doing what he says, while smirking at the cameras.

I have big problems with the “work” Mr Paros has done as head of the league’s safety apparatus. That said, he isn’t the worst, he is another symptom of the true issue. The reason the NHL is a joke league that still operates like it’s 1995 is the weasel in chief, Gary Bettman.

Gary hates hockey, he hates hockey fans more, and he hates Canadian hockey fans most of all. When he finally dies, and his skeletal fingers are pried off the helm of the NHL, no one I know will mourn him. Has he made the owners money? Probably. Has he kept the sport we love mired in the dark ages? Definitely. Gary Bettman is why the NHL is a total joke league. Hockey deserves better than Bettman.

Fuck off, Gary.

#BettmanHatesHockey

Thanks for letting me vent. Go Leafs Go.