Sometimes when the home team is playing particularly badly a fan will express his or her frustration by tossing a jersey onto the ice. It’s not a common occurrence, but it did happen during Toronto’s 5-2 loss against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri felt that act was disrespectful.
“We don’t need fans like that,” Kadri said, per TSN’s Mark Masters.
“He was going up the stands giving out high fives like he won an Oscar or something,” Kadri added. “Once we string a few wins together he’ll be back in front of the line looking to purchase another jersey.”
The Leafs have only played in two games this season, but given that Toronto has only made the playoffs once since the start of the salary cap era and collapsed towards the end of the 2013-14 campaign, it wouldn’t be surprising if some fans’ frustrations were the result of spillover from previous seasons.
“When a fan does that, they’re frustrated — as are we,” Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf told the Canadian Press. “We do not like to put forth the effort we did (Saturday) on any night, especially in front of our fans. We take responsibility for not giving them what they want. They wants to see wins, as do we.”
Toronto will seek its first victory tonight when it plays against the New York Rangers.