“Most hockey fans are so stupid” says Ryan McDougall, a longtime Leafs supporter in the city of Toronto. “They watch the draft like it’s an important day. They watch the Stanley Cup playoffs as though that determines the champion of the league.” Mcdougall is just one of a growing majority of Maple Leafs fans who have finally grasped what so many fans in other cities have failed to realize. He is a member of LeafsTithe.com, a group dedicated to gathering Leaf fans together and ensuring that they each give 10% of their yearly salary to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Gord Hampton, founder of LeafsTithe.com, explains: “We’re seeking to shift the paradigm to reflect the reality of the league today. So many fans are still treating hockey as though it’s a game, or a sport. But hockey is, more than anything else, a business. And how do you win in business? You make the most money. That’s it.” Hampton and his followers have pledged to give 10% of their money to the Leafs – through buying tickets, jerseys, and other assorted memorabilia.

“As the owner of eleven car dealerships in Toronto, I make pretty good money” says McDougall. “With 10% of my earnings this year I was able to attend three games in the nosebleeds, with enough left over to buy a novelty Leafs-branded beer coaster at the gift shop.”

Hampton, along with the bulk of the Leafs nation, are eagerly anticipating the annual release, in November, of the Forbes list of Most Valuable NHL Teams. “We had ten consecutive championships until the Rangers knocked us off last year,” says Hampton. “But with Auston Matthews added to the fold this year, that’s one more jersey fans can buy, and we expect that to put us back on top.”

Hampton and his group have long advocated for increasing the price of concessions at the Air Canada Centre, as well as for cost-cutting by firing the entire scouting staff and much of the coaching staff of the Leafs. He says he expects sales of Auston Matthews jerseys and T-shirts to more than make up for the loss of Phaneuf and Kessel-related merchandise. When asked whether he felt presumptive number one overall pick Matthews would make an immediate impact on the ice, and improve the Leafs’ performance quickly, Hampton said “what the hell do I care?”

The parade is planned for Yonge street November 25th.