"I think that this year's version of the way this team is built and the way they play is something that is becoming more likable for this fan base because of the way they're built.
Maple Leaf fans, for the last couple of years, have had to watch a team built by Kyle Dubas. Okay. Credit to Kyle Dubas. He built some very competitive teams, teams that were good, put up good numbers.
But the way they were built frustrated and irritated a lot of the fan base. Because what people want to watch with the Maple Leafs is guys who bring their lunch pails, guys who hit, guys who fight, guys who go to the front of the net, guys who play a hard brand of hockey.
And what I witnessed on Saturday night was that there was a lot of likability with the fans watching this team play, because you saw everything that I just mentioned. And something that Kyle Dubas built, teams frustrated the heck out of fans because for years, everybody was saying, we just want to watch guys fight.
We just want to watch guys hit. And Kyle Dubas went against the building of those teams."