News Article: Looking Back on the Maple Leafs Playoff Woes

[BlueBaron]

It's a few issues.

On paper we had a good enough team to make the final last year. They were more resolved than past campaigns but still are not reaching their potential. This is probably a combination of maturity and confidence.

Our goalies never steal games and don't do well in game 7s.

We never get heroics from depth players. Usually the Cup Champs have a bottom 6 guy who provides heroic offense. We lean heavily on 2 lines.

Our Right side defensively is also an issue. Brodie is great and Timmy is trending up but Guys like Holl and Labushkin shouldn't be getting top minutes in the playoffs. This is one we can grow out of as Timmy gets better.

Luck. A lucky goal or save could have changed a few outcomes. We've not had bad luck but not good either.

Lastly. The pressure of our market. They know only one thing matters now. 60 goals is nice but I want a deep run. The potential payoff for success could also be a distraction. If Auston bring us a Cup he become the man. Statue. Key to the city, whatever he needs.The face of the NHL. 67 looms large. That's a big burden.

We've played some good teams but losing to the Habs was all psychological imo. JTs injury didn't help but the talent gap was so wide it's not a valid excuse.

They showed they were closer but we need a little more.

 

[MAB1]

Lets See

2017: Lost as the 8 seed to the 1 seed
2018: Lost a road Game 7, with a key player getting suspended
2019: Exact same as 2018,
2020: Lost a 5 game series with no fans, doesn't count imo
2021: This is the only legit big disappointment imo, but don't forget Tavares missed the entire series
2022: Technically a first round loss but it really wasn't. Two of the top 4 teams in the East. That's the playoff format bad luck. Also vs the 2x defending Cup Winner.

It's not like they got upset 6 years in a row.

2017: Fair, first season of the big 3 (all rookies) every game decided in OT and took the president's trophy winner to 6 games a year after finishing dead last.

2018: Fair, last season before they get Tavares. They weren't favourites heading into that series against the Bruins and had a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period of game 7. 2nd season for the big 3.

2019: The Leafs were up 3-2 against the Bruins heading into game 6 on home ice, while they weren't the betting favourites for that series, they choked that. First time the core had a chance to win a series before the 7th game, they didn't. Tavares' first season with the team. Bruins lost in game 7 of the SCF that year to the Blues.

2020: Covid season, that same Jackets team upset the Bolts a season prior but the Leafs still should've won. They were the favourites.

2021: Regardless if they didn't have Tavares for the rest of the series after game 1, they were up 3-1 with two games on home ice to put away the Habs, they choked again.

2022: Similar to 2019, up 3-2 against a team that eventually lost in the finals. I wouldn't call it an upset when everybody on the main boards voted for the Bolts to win the series but they still choked their 3-2 lead.

The core of this team let's their foot off the gas once they're a game away from clinching, which trickles down. It's the first to four wins in a series not first to 3 and then relax.

 

[Nineteen67]

There hasn’t been any one common theme.

One year we were simply too young and inexperienced. Maybe even two.

One our goaltending was subpar.

One our forwards couldn’t muster offense.

One our defense really let us down.

One we lost on predominately on the back of a historically bad penalty kill.

Every one of them close. But the fact is there’s always been something.

Just need to get over the hump and sky is the limit, but they have to avoid obvious pitfalls and at least be average to good in all areas.

Weaknesses get exposed come playoffs

At this point though, and maybe this is easier said than done, they just need to get out of their own heads and prove they want it more than the other team

Weaknesses get exposed, as they should.

 

[Nineteen67]

Sitting here watching a Sydney Crosby interview and him glowingly talk about MacKinnion, makes me think about our roster and notice our top end talent lacks the competitive component that the Avs had: Landeskog, MacKinnon, Kadri all are in the trenches warriors + high end talent. Nylander is a wimp, Marner is a feather weight, Austin is competitive but not a guy who is thought of as a gritty in the trenches warrior and Tavares is slow, soft, ineffective on many nights. Our grit guys are bottom 6 minute guys.

I cant help but think that if you always do what you've always done, you always get what you always got. Our main guys are mostly unchanged and I think our goalies are worse than last years group... how does this years team compete? Outscore their warts is our only chance ... we lose one of our soft stars, we are done...

Compare Brayden Point’s mentality on winning to the best players on the Leafs‘ mentality.

Go through the years and you’ll see why they lose every year.

 

[Byron Bitz]

People are mentioning ‘Bad luck’ but that term doesn’t even begin to describe it, a stronger word is needed. What are the odds of Tavares falling a second before Perry’s knee hit his head? How the f*** did 2 phantom high sticks get called against us in the 3rd period of game 6 against Tampa. I could go on all day, It is astounding that this team hasn’t won a playoff series.

 

[Dekes For Days]

The sad thing and a lesson Dubas/Shanny will learn is that you don't need to spend 11 million. A 6 million dollar player has the ability to be a game breaker in the playoffs.

Anybody could be a game breaker in the playoffs, from a league minimum player to the highest paid player in the league. The 11m player is just far more likely to do it than a 6m player.

 

[andora]

The sad thing and a lesson Dubas/Shanny will learn is that you don't need to spend 11 million. A 6 million dollar player has the ability to be a game breaker in the playoffs.

Would you be leaning towards game winning goals here or something else?

For game winning goals it would be interesting to see how it stacks up.. say average salary of who scores

 

[francis246]

I still get sick thinking about the Montreal Series.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Anybody could be a game breaker in the playoffs, from a league minimum player to the highest paid player in the league. The 11m player is just far more likely to do it than a 6m player.

The top OT goal scorers (NHL playoffs) includes several Leafs: Glenn Anderson (5), The often criticized Patrick Marleau (4), Mel Hill (3), Rene Robert (3), Lanny McDonald (3), Mike Gartner (3), and Russ Courtnall (3).

None of which were paid 11 million. It's possible Mike Gartner was paid a fair bit, and might have been up there as one of the highest paid.

Rickard Wallin never played in the post season for TOR., but he always had my vote for league minimum unsung hero.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Would you be leaning towards game winning goals here or something else?

For game winning goals it would be interesting to see how it stacks up.. say average salary of who scores

It's true I think of Gary Valk, Cory Cross, Mike Foligno, Todd Gill, Yannic Perreault, etc. all did something heroic for TOR and never the highest paid.

 

[Dekes For Days]

The top OT goal scorers (NHL playoffs) includes several Leafs: Glenn Anderson (5), The often criticized Patrick Marleau (4), Mel Hill (3), Rene Robert (3), Lanny McDonald (3), Mike Gartner (3), and Russ Courtnall (3). None of which were paid 11 million.

Playoff OT goals is kind of an arbitrary measure, but no, I don't imagine many were paid 11m, since league revenues have only resulted in salary like that in the past ~5 years of the NHL's 100+ year history.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

It starts right at chm of board level of nhl thru commish and league .. Leafs do not need playoff gates to survive .. they are a cash cow before season even starts .. lots of teams like Tampa Avs Florida Carolina etc well they need those gates to pay bills .. combine league bias and jealousy with no tender and bottom line no success .. Freddy and Soup don't have what it takes .. until we get a "ride my back boys" tender it is very hard to win in pro hockey .. hopefully Murray is no longer hurt and does not get hurt this year then maybe we got a better chance .. guys that know how to win tend to win

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Playoff OT goals is kind of an arbitrary measure, but no, I don't imagine many were paid 11m, since league revenues have only resulted in salary like that in the past ~5 years of the NHL's 100+ year history.

Sorry Joe Sakic. Your 8 Playoff OT goals is an arbitrary measure. Dekes for Days says so.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Valid reasons: poor GM decisions (leading to unbalanced teams) and poor coaching decisions (leading to improper usage).

Invalid excuses: bias by the league and on-ice officials.

 

[notDatsyuk]

The top OT goal scorers (NHL playoffs) includes several Leafs: Glenn Anderson (5), The often criticized Patrick Marleau (4), Mel Hill (3), Rene Robert (3), Lanny McDonald (3), Mike Gartner (3), and Russ Courtnall (3).

None of which were paid 11 million. It's possible Mike Gartner was paid a fair bit, and might have been up there as one of the highest paid.

Rickard Wallin never played in the post season for TOR., but he always had my vote for league minimum unsung hero.

That list is a little deceptive, as none of those players scored more than one as a Leaf, and only 3 of the 24 were scored in a Leafs uniform.

The 11M number is completely arbitrary: were any of those players one of the top two or three salaried on their team?

 

[notDatsyuk]

Sorry Joe Sakic. Your 8 Playoff OT goals is an arbitrary measure. Dekes for Days says so.

Arbitrary as a sole measure in determining value.

(Why am I agreeing with Dekes? Oh, yeah, 'cause he's right this time.)

 

[capfit9]

Joined today to make the thread. and a Bruins fan.

Doesn’t make it untrue

 

[keonsbitterness]

Doesn’t make it untrue

So we're legitimately cursed? Do you believe in witchcraft?

 

[Notsince67]

Compare Brayden Point’s mentality on winning to the best players on the Leafs‘ mentality.

Go through the years and you’ll see why they lose every year.

Point had like 4 points against the leafs. Below Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly. He had as many points as Mikheyev.
Sorry. Lost me already

 

[kb]

Point had like 4 points against the leafs. Below Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly. He had as many points as Mikheyev.
Sorry. Lost me already

Those darn facts. I thought Point looked like a decent 3rd liner against the Leafs.

 

[LeafGrief]

They looked good enough against Tampa to me. That was a hard fought series between two very good teams and our Leafs were in it until the very end.

The previous years I would chalk up to Marner and Nylander's immaturity, mostly Marner. It's not a coincidence that Marner sucking in the playoffs coincides with years of misery. Having your second best player disappear does a number on any team, and we're top heavy by choice.

I do not blame the GM for betting on a consistent 90 point player to play well in the playoffs. We were all expecting Marner to do well ever since he was diving in front of Chara slappers as a sophomore. He had all of the guts we ever needed, but he was way into his own head and could barely even function in the Montreal series. We might as well have played CBJ and MTL with him in the pressbox.

Add in random goddamn chance, opponents goalies going supernova, and the mental weight of having a game 7 reputation, we were primed for upsets every year.

So yeah, looking back I think we're very unlucky to end up where we are. Marner couldn't hack the pressure and then everything else went wrong that could. But sometimes you get unlucky, and that's hockey. As Leafs fans we're dreadfully used to it.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I think goaltending, both for us and our opponents, has played a larger role than has been talked about. When it was all on the line, neither Andersen or Campbell were capable of shutting the door. But, the Leafs have gone up against some of the best goalies of this generation. Rask, Price, and Vasilevsky are/were all brilliant, and we had the bad luck of running into them 4/6 playoff rounds. The two times we didn’t face them was when the Leafs were a bunch of rookies going against the President Trophy winning Caps, and the other was probably the worst version of these Leafs since Matthews joined. Still though, Andersen and the Leafs should 100% have beaten Korpisalo, insane to compare that guys stats to that series and pretty much every other stretch of play he’s had. Inexcusable to be shut out at 5 on 5 for the final half of that series.

Plenty of other reasons too, like inexperience, injuries, suspensions, poorly constructed defence, etc. But the Leafs are often (and rightfully) criticized for not scoring enough in the playoffs, specifically the big guns, but the majority of the series they’ve played in they’ve faced some all-star level goaltenders.

 

[Nineteen67]

Point had like 4 points against the leafs. Below Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly. He had as many points as Mikheyev.
Sorry. Lost me already

You had to watch him over the years to understand. Highly skilled, determined player.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

That list is a little deceptive, as none of those players scored more than one as a Leaf, and only 3 of the 24 were scored in a Leafs uniform.

The 11M number is completely arbitrary: were any of those players one of the top two or three salaried on their team?

No. That's my point though. A top heavy salaried structured team doesn't need to be. Unsung heroes sometimes can be in the lower tier of salary.

 

[ACC1224]

Point had like 4 points against the leafs. Below Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and Rielly. He had as many points as Mikheyev.
Sorry. Lost me already

Wasn't he hurt?