Loathing the Leafs

Having grown up in western New York, nothing warms my hockey heart more than learning I'm not alone in my longstanding distaste for the bumbling Buds in Toronto.

Sure, my hometown Buffalo Sabres have developed bitter rivalries with other NHL clubs. But when it comes to Leafs, those feelings of ill will are pretty quick to ramp up.

Though I know that the geographical proximity plays a major role, I believe it's more of the perception that the organization believes the Leafs, no matter how poorly they're playing, are Canada's team. This is just a hunch, but I'm sure there are another five cities that feel qualified to make that claim.

Because of that, I was hardly surprised that the Toronto Maple Leafs were overwhelmingly picked by Hound Central 3.0's readers as the worst team in the NHL.

Here are the results:

Question: Who's the worst team in the NHL?

Toronto Maple Leafs: 27 out of 48 votes cast (56.3 percent)
Los Angeles Kings: 15 out of 48 (31.3 percent)
Tampa Bay Lightning: 6 out of 48 (12.5 percent)