Biggest Chokers Showdown: Toronto Maple Leafs VS San Jose Sharks

[N o o d l e s]

Sharks always made it deep and just couldn’t finish the deal. Leafs can’t even beat us.

 

[MattMartin]

How often have the Leafs been the clearly superior team in series they have lost with this core? Not really too often.

2017: No
2018: No
2019: At best they were equal to BOS
2020: They should have been better that season but had a disappointing regular season and were tied in pts percentage with CLB.
2021: They choked hard
2022: They were better in the standings than TB, but Tampa had won two Cups in a row
2023: They were the favorite in round one and won. They arguably should have beat FLA
2024: Pretty even

Seems more like a good regular season team that hasn't had playoff success than a massive juggernaut that keeps choking.

The Islanders were not clearly superior team in almost all of their playoff appearances, they still won 5 series in that same time period, what's your point??? This is IMHO, a weak argument.

 

[DitchMarner]

The Islanders were not clearly superior team in almost all of their playoff appearances, they still won 5 series in that same time period, what's your point??? This is IMHO, a weak argument.

Choking is about consistently failing to get the job done despite being a favorite.

If you want to say the Leafs aren't a great playoff team, I'm not going to argue against that. But there have certainly been bigger chokers.

Look at LA. Three straight years of losing to EDM despite being a solid team. They had a 3-2 lead in one of those series and 1-0 and 2-1 leads in another. Does anyone call them big chokers? People like creating drama when it comes to the Leafs and messing around with their fans.

 

[MattMartin]

Choking is about consistently failing to get the job done despite being a favorite.

If you want to say the Leafs aren't a great playoff team, I'm not going to argue against that. But there have certainly been bigger chokers.

Look at LA. Three straight years of losing to EDM despite being a solid team. They had a 3-2 lead in one of those series and 1-0 and 2-1 leads in another. Does anyone call them big chokers? People like creating drama when it comes to the Leafs and messing around with their fans.

You have to admit the expectations for the last 5 seasons or so has been very underwhelming to say the least. I'm not sure when you start the season as a favorite yet year after year you can't say that not getting even out of round 1 isn't considered a choke. I'm a Cowboys fan, trust me, I know choking. The Cowboys and Maple Leafs are eerily similar for a bit now.

 

[lawrence]

Sharks had a decent window and I wouldn't call it a choke. During their rise, they had to contend against power houses like the Red Wings and avs. By the time the Wings and Avs were on the decline, rose the powerhouse of the Blackhawks and Kings. By the time, they were done the Sharks made the finals in 2016, but by than, Marleau and Thornton was in their late 30's, and rose another super power in the Vegas knights. They are somewhat of a chocke but not like the leafs

For the Leafs. Every time they faced the boston Bruis the Leafs came in as the underdog. But funny as hell in Nylander Marner, Mathews, Tavares loses out to Nyquist, Jenner, Anderson, Foglino in 2020.

 

[Steven Toast]

As it stands its the Leafs by a wide margin. 1 series win in 8 years. The Thornton era Sharks won 14 rounds in 13 years.

 

[Oak]

Choker playoffs would be fun.... for Leafs fans maybe.

 

[GMR]

The Sharks had much better regular seasons. Always near the top of the standings. They also made many Conference Finals.

The Leafs are just overrated because they're in Toronto. How many times have they come close to winning the Presidents Trophy during this stretch? How many Conference Finals appearances recently?

The Sharks not winning the Cup was more disappointing. The Leafs are obviously the worse playoff performers because they almost never won a single round.

 

[MessierII]

Leafs hands down. Those shakes teams won rounds. Notice the S plural.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

people who still say this are f***ing clueless.

The Sharks lost to teams equal or better than them in the standings every year except 2009, when Anaheim pulled a VGK/Mark Stone special with Teemu Selanne before the start of that series. Other than that they performed as well or better than anybody could have reasonably expected.

2014

 

[MessierII]

people who still say this are f***ing clueless.

The Sharks lost to teams equal or better than them in the standings every year except 2009, when Anaheim pulled a VGK/Mark Stone special with Teemu Selanne before the start of that series. Other than that they performed as well or better than anybody could have reasonably expected.

Yeah no. They were heavy favourites vs the stars and oilers before that. Also one of four teams ever to blow a 3-0 series lead.

 

[Satire]

How often have the Leafs been the clearly superior team in series they have lost with this core? Not really too often.

2017: No
2018: No
2019: At best they were equal to BOS
2020: They should have been better that season but had a disappointing regular season and were tied in pts percentage with CLB.
2021: They choked hard
2022: They were better in the standings than TB, but Tampa had won two Cups in a row
2023: They were the favorite in round one and won. They arguably should have beat FLA
2024: Pretty even

Seems more like a good regular season team that hasn't had playoff success than a massive juggernaut that keeps choking.

From an objective standpoint I think this is fair. Toronto has never really had an easy opponent in the first round outside of Columbus in the bubble.

I think there's still time to right the ship for them too. The next 2 years are going to be huge for that team and make or break the 2nd half of their window here.

 

[squashmaple]

From an objective standpoint I think this is fair. Toronto has never really had an easy opponent in the first round outside of Columbus in the bubble.

I think there's still time to right the ship for them too. The next 2 years are going to be huge for that team and make or break the 2nd half of their window here.

Toronto and Columbus had literally the same record that year, Toronto just got the eighth seed because of ROW. Were they the better team on paper? Sure. But I am so tired of this myth that they were some juggernaut brought down by lowly undeserving David, like the Lightning the year before. They weren't.

 

[Coaches Coroner]

The obsession continues. Love the fans from the usual suspect dog shit teams chiming in.

I'm glad the Leafs exist because if it weren't for how bad they are, I feel like at least a couple posters here wouldn't exist anymore of their own doing.

 

[banks]

As a Leafs fan, I'd be happy to switch Toronto's recent payoff history for the playoff record that the Thornton/Marleau Sharks had. They did something.

The Leafs have had one series win in eight appearances. It's almost ridiculous to even write it. Good teams lose in the playoffs all the time. But you can't defend that record.

 

[kevsh]

The Montreal Choke Job almost alone cements their legacy. But add to that blowing 3-2 series leads to both Boston and Tampa Bay, and their abysmal record in game 7s, and the Leafs take this, for now.

Though I'm convinced nothing will change in Leafland to alter their current course of failure, but the fact remains that the core is still here (sadly) and so it still is possible they could completely change their destiny with one Cup-winning run.

Yes, I almost choked writing that last sentence, but in fairness they still have time ... That was just as hard to write.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Sharks had some runs, including once to the SCF.

I know xfdsharks is a meme, but they did way more in their window than the Leafs.

 

[TheUnusedCrayon]

Sharks due to how good they were and how the playoffs were formatted during those times.

 

[AvroArrow]

Matthews is 26, calm down

 

[Schmooley]

Remember when they wanted to form a super choker by combining the two and brought Marleau and Thornton to Toronto?

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

Mitch Marner is a god and you peasants are both blasphemous and also jelly

 

[Sinistril]

Sharks. They were actually good

 

[ricky0034]

San Jose made it to the Conference Finals 4 times and even the Cup Finals once

Toronto made it to the second round once....

 

[Squiffy]

The Joe Thornton/Patrick Marleau San Jose Sharks are widely known as one of, if not, the biggest choking cores in NHL history, but are they any worse than the current Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews Maple Leafs core? The current Leafs have won 1 playoff series in 8 years whereas the Sharks actually managed to get past the first round a few times and even made it to the SC Finals.

The results speak for themselves, this current Leaf core has performed even worse than the Sharks in the post-season which is flabbergasting considering all the talent they have on the team.

What the heck is this troll job? This is honestly meant to inspire legitimate discussion at this point in time? Might be an interesting August thread, but dude.

What's to say? Thorton/Marleau chapter is written, Matthews Leaf era isn't done, relatively on par though in terms of abject failure to break through. Could change, might not. What other answer is there? This is just looking for a reaction.

 

[SharksCyclops]

Matthews is 26, calm down

Soooo...in his prime and potentially his peak performance? Gotcha. I'm calm now.