The Toronto Maple Leafs were caught in the firing line of the hockey fans for no fault of their own recently. They usually catch flak for not making the Stanley Cup Final in the last few decades. But this time, it was because of the Toronto Marlies.

Last night, Sportsnet shared a post on their official X account about the Marlies heading to the Calder Cup Finals in the American Hockey League (AHL). This led to hockey fans poking fun at the expense of the Maple Leafs rather than congratulating the Marlies.

Leafs are the Marlies' NHL parent club through AHL affiliation — standard across all 32 NHL teams

Notably, the Marlies won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2-1 in overtime, to wrap up the playoff series. Alex Nylander, the younger brother of Maple Leafs star William Nylander, scored the winner for the Marlies.

This marked his sixth goal in the playoffs.

With that, the Marlies will make their return to the Calder Cup Finals for the third time in their history after one win (2018) and one loss (2012). They beat the Texas Stars in seven games in 2018 to win their one and only Calder Cup title.

But, unlike the Marlies, the Maple Leafs have 13 Stanley Cup titles, the second most in the NHL behind the Montreal Canadiens with 24. Their last title came way back in 1967 at the expense of the Canadiens in six games.

More importantly, it was the last time they made the Stanley Cup Final in their rich history.

This means that the Maple Leafs have the longest active championship drought of more than 59 years in the NHL currently.

Hockey Fans Troll the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Marlies Reach the Calder Cup Finals

While the Toronto Maple Leafs have been waiting to reach the Stanley Cup Final for decades, the Toronto Marlies are in yet another Calder Cup Finals. With that, the hockey fans equated the Maple Leafs' drought with the recently successful AHL franchise to troll the former.

“So a Toronto hockey team does know how to advance to a finals,” said a hockey fan, indirectly making fun of the Maple Leafs.

“Only time anyone might be able to say 'Toronto won the Cup',” remarked another hockey fan in their attempt to do the same.

A third hockey fan went a step further by calling the Marlies better than the Maple Leafs.

“at least one toronto team is good,” they wrote.

A couple of hockey fans name-dropped the Maple Leafs since the Marlies are now a step closer to winning the Calder Cup for the second time.

“Leafs could never,” said a hockey fan, while another remarked, “Good on the Marlies for carrying Toronto hockey since the Leafs can't.”

Will the Toronto Maple Leafs make the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 60 years in 2027? Give us your prediction in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray