Toronto Maple Leafs fans were just ranked the worst in the entire NHL
The Canadian maple leaf may be a popular look for those travelling abroad, but it's a different story with the Toronto Maple Leafs' iconic blue and white logo. Wear it anywhere beyond the Greater Toronto Area, especially outside of Ontario, and you're bound to hear some muttering and groans from passersby.
Leafs fans are all too familiar with being the laughing stock of the NHL, and it doesn't come as an earth-shattering shock to hear that fans in other markets aren't exactly too fond of the buds or their annually-disappointed fanbase.
Fans of the probably-cursed franchise have just been crowned the worst in the league in a few departments in a poll of over 6,500 fans created by hockey analyst JFresh.
And it wasn't even remotely close, as the Leafs' fanbase easily outpaced 31 other teams to rank as the most annoying, delusional and unhinged in the entire NHL.
More than 6,500 of you answered the fanbase survey. Here are the results.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
Which NHL team has the most annoying fanbase?
🥇 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
🥈 New York Rangers
🥉 Montréal Canadiens pic.twitter.com/hQvZsRZk5O
Surprising literally nobody, it was Montreal Canadiens fans who found Leafs supporters to be the worst, with 81 per cent of Habs fans voting Leafs fans as the most insufferable.
Not too far behind Montreal, 79 per cent of Winnipeg Jets fans and 76 per cent of Edmonton Oilers fans voted Toronto as the most annoying fanbase.
I also tracked which teams were most often picked as "Most annoying" by each fanbase.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
81% of MTL fans voted TOR
79% of WPG fans voted TOR
76% of EDM fans voted TOR
70% of BOS fans voted TOR
68% of OTT fans voted TOR
66% of PIT fans voted NYR
66% of VAN fans voted TOR
The rankings looked very similar in the "most delusional" category, rabid Leafs fans still somehow believing that the prestige of a Stanley Cup championship is always one season away when the team can't even win a first-round series.
Which NHL fanbase is the most delusional?
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
You voted
🥇 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
🥈 Edmonton Oilers
🥉 New York Rangers pic.twitter.com/YCFtdrVPh2
This same undying belief in something the team hasn't accomplished since 1967 and the inevitable crushing defeat that follows is a good combination to make fans a bit…umm…tense around playoff season.
So when fans across the league had to choose which fanbase was the "most unhinged and prone to melting down over next to nothing," Toronto was an easy choice. Almost half of the total votes in this category — across 32 teams — went to the Leafs.
Which NHL fanbase is most unhinged and prone to melting down over next to nothing?
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
You voted.
🥇 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
🥈 New York Rangers
🥉 Edmonton Oilers pic.twitter.com/927blhpo6o
Other markets may consider Toronto to be the most annoying, delusional, and unhinged, but it seems our own self-awareness could use a bit of fine-tuning.
Leafs fans were only the 5th most willing to describe their own fellow fans as particularly annoying, behind Montreal, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, and Vancouver.
Which NHL fanbases were most willing to describe their own fellow fans as particularly annoying?
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
🥇 MONTRÉAL CANADIENS
🥈 Philadelphia Flyers
🥉 Vegas Golden Knights pic.twitter.com/LxTKJRl4kU
And despite all of the hate NHL fans seem to have for the city, Toronto somehow ranked as the top fanbase that is not as annoying as its reputation.
Which NHL fanbase isn't as annoying as its reputation?
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 4, 2022
You voted.
🥇 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
🥈 Boston Bruins
🥉 Carolina Hurricanes pic.twitter.com/8ocvWe6o1V
So I suppose the takeaway here is that Leafs fans are indeed the most annoying in the league, but they're still not as bad as generally perceived. Little victories I guess.
Jack Landau
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