Toronto Maple Leafs' player had to delete social media after dangerous threats

It may not be at the level it once was, but the rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens is still one of the hottest in the NHL, and in all of sports. No matter where the two teams are in the standings when they face each other, or even if there are standings in place at all, nothing seems to matter to the players participating other than that one game, and winning the latest round of the Habs-Leafs rivalry. Things do tend to get out of hand at times, and that happened after the preseason game between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs last weekend.

It all started with Patrik Laine of the Montreal Canadiens and Cedric Paré of the Toronto Maple Leafs colliding on a play. Laine's left leg bent in an awful way during the collision, and he left the game hobbling. It has since been announced that Laine will miss two to three months with a sprained left knee.

That hasn't stopped fans from letting their passion turn into stupidity, though. On the latest edition of TSN's Insider Trading, Darren Dreger said he's been told that Cedric Paré received threats that were serious enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs' security agency to step in.

Dreger is absolutely right on the issue. Even if Cedric Paré's hit on Patrik Laine had been intended to injure, which it was not, players, their team's, and the NHL are capable of sorting things out on their own without the need for fans to step in. Especially if those fans are going to get violent, or threatening to get violent. There's no place for this in NHL, hockey, or any other sport. It shouldn't be difficult to figure out where the line is and not cross it.