The other night’s Toronto Maple Leafs loss to the Boston Bruins sparked outrage on social media for a variety of reasons.
Whether it was the remarks of the Leafs’ bench stars or Sheldon Keefe’s post-game comments, everything is being picked up and examined this morning in anticipation of another Toronto playoff disaster.
We’ve learned to expect significant changes from the Leafs over the years, but will this be the final straw?
Personally, I believe that losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2021 playoffs after leading the series 3-1 should have served as a massive wake-up call.
But three years later, we’re still laughing at the same Maple Leafs with the same core.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, however they have only won one series in that time.
What’s even weirder, and should be a massive red signal, is that the Montreal Canadiens have more playoff wins than the Maple Leafs over the last five years.
In the last 5 years the Leafs have played 34 playoff games, Montreal has played 32…Montreal has 18 wins, the Leafs have 14…Montreal has only made the playoffs twice. pic.twitter.com/PHDenfP9rb
— Matthew McAnanama (@MMcananama) April 28, 2024
The Leafs won 14 of 34 playoff games, while the Canadiens won 18 of 32.
The Leafs’ winning percentage is 0.41, while the Tricolore’s is 0.56.
We could even add another full year and hence another playoff appearance for the Maple Leafs, in 2019, and the Habs would still have more victories, given that the Leafs were defeated in seven games by the Boston Bruins that year.
So we’d add just three wins, giving them 17 in the last six years compared to 18 for the Habs.
It’s absurd to believe that a rebuilding team has more playoff victories than a squad that has been a Stanley Cup contender for years.
It just goes to illustrate how the Leafs’ core is never going to win and should be removed.
This first-round loss to the Boston Bruins (indeed, if everything goes well, the Leafs will lose a fourth game in this series) must be the catalyst for a significant shake-up both behind the bench and in the locker room.
New, for @TheAthletic: Barring an unlikely and unexpected comeback, this is the end of the Maple Leafs as we know them.https://t.co/DwvG9XYRJEhttps://t.co/DwvG9XYRJE
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 28, 2024
However, the Habs have only made the playoffs twice in the last five years.
Consider how the Montreal Canadiens could have regained their competitiveness and been Stanley Cup contenders before the Maple Leafs made a significant postseason impact.
It would be a huge humiliation to the entire city of Toronto.
The Habs might even face the Leafs in the first round shortly, and imagine if they win.
In short, the Maple Leafs haven’t had any playoff success in a long time, as seen by this statistic comparing the Habs’ playoff success.
