The Ultimate Sin
August 5, 2002

Courtesy of On The Wall
Story by: Navin Vaswani

In all my years as a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I've never seen anyone walk away from the team like Curtis Joseph did. No matter how bad things were, no matter how bad the player became, no one ever wanted to leave Toronto.

Doug Gilmour cried the day he was traded. Wendel Clark came back twice because he was a different, and better, player when he wore the blue and white. Felix Potvin was driven out of town. Steve Thomas and Steve Sullivan weren't given a chance to stay.

No one leaves Toronto voluntarily, except for Curtis Joseph.

Who the hell does he think he is?

You're telling me the Leafs paid this guy $24 million to get us into the third round of the playoffs? It was his job and responsibility to at least get us into the Stanley Cup Finals. Toronto made it to the semis twice in Cujo's four years here, and in a total of 11 games, Cujo won three. That's just sad. Cujo couldn't beat Hasek in '99 or Irbe in 2002.

Some say, "He wants a Cup, let him get one before he retires." Every player wants the Stanley Cup just as bad as Joseph does. The fans want a Cup too; we've suffered a lot longer than Joseph has. I'm disappointed, but you don't see me going to the mall and buying a Red Wings jersey just because they won it all.

After all the city and the team did for him, he just jumped on the Red Wings bandwagon. Thanks for nothing. You were supposed to bring us the Cup, and you didn't even come close. Hell, you couldn't even bring us Olympic gold.

Everyone's been ripping Pat Quinn because of the way he handled the Olympic situation and Cujo's contract. It's not Quinn's fault; Cujo chose to walk.

Last summer, after the Leafs fell to the New Jersey Devils for the second straight year, Quinn and Co. attempted to resign Joseph. They offered $7.3 million per year over four years, but Joseph and his agent Don Meehan rejected it. Cujo wanted at least $8.5 to $9 million, which would have made him one of the highest paid goalies in the league.

Only Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek and Martin Brodeur make $8 million or more as goaltenders. How does Cujo think he belongs in this category? Even after all he did in Toronto, he still never won the big game. Had he beaten New Jersey in game 7, maybe he would have deserved elite money. But he flopped, just like every other big game in his life.

Give Quinn credit for sitting Cujo and giving Brodeur the reins in Salt Lake City. Quinn knew it could cause a lot of damage, and it probably did, but he had to do what was best for the country. We won the gold, and if Cujo is still bitter about it, he should get over it.

Joseph was God in this city. He was so revered that no one could have seen this coming. The Leafs were ready to make him the highest-paid goalie in the history of the NHL. But the poor baby wants a Stanley Cup, just like the rest of the frigging world, so he left.

Watching his farewell press conference, I felt overwhelmed with anger and resentment. I was ready to throw my remote at my T.V. when Cujo said, "My last wish is that if we don't win it in Detroit, I hope Toronto does."

What a load of shit.

A couple of hours after crying his way out of Toronto, he was in Detroit, smiling in his new Red Wings uniform.

In the end, Cujo didn't get the four-year contract he demanded from Toronto. He even signed for less money, although he's still overpaid.

Aside from all the anger brewing inside me, I'm a broken man. I act this way, to hide my pain. Cujo, you broke my heart. How can you leave your teammates and your fans in the dark like this? We want a Cup just as bad as you do my friend, but we're not gonna jump ship.

What makes this even more unfathomable is that Cujo is a hometown boy. He dreamed about being a Leaf his entire life. He took the blue and white for granted. He doesn't deserve to wear a Leaf on his chest anymore.

Cujo committed the ultimate sin, he sold out, and I'll never forgive him for that. I hope he never wins the Stanley Cup. Wouldn't it be great to see a Leafs/Red Wings Stanley Cup Final? That would be ideal, to have him watch us win the Cup that he so badly wants. That is the only moment that will bring me any justice. There's nothing he can say, that can take away all the pain.

Cujo, you sold us out…

No matter what happens, my brother, my boys, this city, and myself, we're all still blue and white till we die. No matter how bad this team becomes, no matter how bad Ed Belfour plays, the dream will never die. We'll never stop flying our flags. I don't care how much better the odds are for the Wings, we'll never sellout.

Cujo's gone, but the sun still rises. Good riddance Cujo. We'll be all right. See you on the other side. We still beLEAF…