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ESPN the Magazine tabs Maple Leafs as worst team in major sports

Toronto Maple Leafs v Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, CANADA - DECEMBER 18: of the Vancouver Canucks of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in NHL action on December 18, 2010 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Rich Lam

As Puck Daddy’s Harrison Mooney points out, the Toronto Maple Leafs finished last overall in ESPN’s “Ultimate Team” standings.

They’re ranked 122 out of 122 teams in the four “major” professional sports - edging the woeful Sacramento Kings - so they’re not just last among NHL teams.

The Columbus Blue Jackets were the second lowest ranked NHL team while - wait for it - the Phoenix Coyotes were the No.1 pro hockey team.

How did ESPN come to such conclusions?

The quirky poll ranks teams in such categories as “bang for the buck” and “affordability,” so it makes some sense that a team that struggles in the standings but lights up the box office would perform so poorly.

Mooney goes into Toronto’s history in this specific format:

The Leafs have finished no better than 120th since 2008, but they’ve never been last before. In 2008, they were edged out by the New York Knicks. In 2009, it was the Knicks and the L.A. Clippers. In 2010, only the Clippers remained, and in 2011, the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins beat them out.

Note: the table in the link seems a little funky, so Mooney’s account of the magazine itself should be more reliable read on the study’s specifics.