Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
Now What? Maple Leafs Period of Uncertainty Begins as Questions Surpass Modest Improvement
The Toronto Maple Leafs won a playoff round for the first time in 19 years, but what followed was an embarrassing loss to the Florida Panthers in five games. Everything is on the table.
It seemed like this story was written a few days ago.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs fell into a 3-0 series deficit against the Florida Panthers on May 7, all the goodwill that had been built up by the club after finally breaking through to win a playoff round had vanished.
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The club pushed belief, even though only four teams in the over 100-year history of the NHL club had successfully overcome a 3-0 hole in a best-of-seven before. They scratched out a Game 4 victory against the Panthers to bring the series back to Scotiabank Arena.
But it all ended when Nick Cousins scored in overtime to give the Panthers the 3-2 win while eliminating the Maple Leafs from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"We lose this series in the first three games," head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. "We were in similar positions like we were in Games 4 and 5 but didn't handle those situations well and didn't capitalize on our chances."
Toronto's core-four forwards — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander — combined for just three goals in the series. They had none in Games 1 through 3. It was particularly disappointing since they were key reasons the Leafs went on to successfully defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning.
After successfully being able to stick together for years, there is serious doubt that all four will remain together.
Is a change in order?
"We all have years on our contracts," Marner said. "It's not up to us but we've got a lot of belief in this group and a lot of belief in that core. But, yeah it sucks right now, but we've got belief."
Marner is right. All four players mentioned are signed through the 2023-24 season. All of those contracts were signed by Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who himself does not have a contract for his current position beyond June 30. Dubas continually threw his support behind the core, despite years of playoff disappointment.
Can Dubas sell two more playoff wins and a second-round appearance as enough to run it back? Perhaps bigger question is will be return?
Maybe if the Leafs lost a close series with the Panthers, it might have been possible to keep everyone around. But it's those first three games against Florida that are hard to undo. All the angst and frustration built up by a fanbase rose to a boil when Toronto's best players made mistakes in a "must-win" Game 3.
There's also Keefe.
Like his players, the head coach has had a stellar performance in the regular season. In four seasons with Toronto, he has a 166-71-30 record (.678). In the playoffs, however, he is 13-17 (.433).
It's hard to put too much of the blame on him for his players not executing in the postseason. We'll surely learn soon enough that at least one core player was playing hurt (as is the case during the playoffs).
But there were some things.
With the chips down in Game 5, there were several times when the fourth line got some offensive-zone faceoffs. There was the constant tinkering with the lineup.
Keefe, like everybody, will be evaluated in the coming days.
There were some standouts.
After struggling to find a proper fit in the lineup, Morgan Rielly was without question Toronto's best defenseman in the playoffs and played like the No. 1 on the group that he is.
Considered part of the 'core five', Rielly, the team's longest-tenured player, was devastated following the loss. His post-game comments were spoken so softly, it was inaudible at times.
But when asked about the future of the core going forward, he was clear about one thing.
"I love these guys. I don’t want anything to change," he said.
The reality is, something has to give.
Toronto scored no more than two goals in each of their last seven playoff games. The offense simply wasn't there at a time when they needed it.
When the Maple Leafs entered the obligatory handshake line following Cousins' goal, they were looking at a team that made the tough decisions. After finishing with the best record in the 2021-22 regular season, the Panthers were swept in the second round by Tampa. Instead of running it back, the team took a risk and traded 115-point man Jonathan Huberdeau along with defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, prospect Cole Swindt and a conditional first-round draft pick in 2025 to land Matthew Tkachuk. It was risky, but the Panthers needed a different type of player they felt could help them excel in the playoffs.
Toronto's second-round exit wasn't a sweep. But it sure felt like that.
Toronto made some changes this season. In February they brought in tougher and more physical players to surround their core like Ryan O'Reilly, Jake McCabe, Noel Acciari and Luke Schenn to name a few.
Perhaps if they had more than six weeks together before the postseason began, it might have worked. But the core is still the core and now everything is fair game, from the players to Keefe, to Dubas and even to team president Brendan Shanahan, who has been around since 2014 and hired two different coaches and GMs and doesn't have a lot to show for it.
The Leafs won a round. But it's always how you finish that fans remember the most.
On May 13, 2013 — exactly 10 years before this article was published — the Maple Leafs went into TD Garden feeling good about themselves. Written off for dead after going down 3-1 in their first playoff series in nine years, Toronto had stunned the Bruins in Games 5 and 6 to force a Game 7. A respectable hard-fought loss would have been seen as an acceptable outcome. Instead, they became the first team in NHL history to give up a three-goal lead in the third period of a Game 7 and lose. It's known as the collapse and it's all people remember about the series.
It's always about how you finish and that's what makes the five-game series loss to the Panthers a defeat so bad that begs for a shock to the core.
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