Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Caring (Or Not) About The Playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are still in the thick of the playoff race.

Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs are still heavily involved in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, it’s uncertain if they’ll actually get there.

Many had the Leafs near the bottom of the barrel prior to the start of the NHL season. They were wrong. Completely wrong.

This team is good and has exceeded expectations by quite a bit, from a team and individual perspective.

This week’s roundtable question is simple:

Do you care if the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs this year?

Let us know your take in the comment section.

James Tanner’s Take

Yes, I will be mad if the Leafs miss the playoffs.

I don’t really feel like giving them a pass just because it’s new management. This team only made the playoffs once since 2004.

That’s pathetic.

Also, they’re good enough to make it, which I said in September and fully expected to happen. So if they miss, it’s disappointing and I don’t really care where they are in the so called rebuild.

Lauren Kelly’s Take

As much as I would like to say I would care if the Leafs made the playoffs, I care more about what happens between now and mid-April, whether they make it or not.

I’d much prefer to see the Leafs give it their all (and not repeat performances like the ones in California) and miss the playoffs, than for them to continue to play the way they have and get in by sheer dumb luck.

Honestly, if the Leafs continue to play the way they did in California, they don’t deserve to be a playoff team. I want to see them excel in these last few weeks and prove to the NHL and to their fans that they deserve one of those sixteen playoff spots. If the veterans keep dragging the rookies down, this team does not deserve to make the playoffs.

If the team forgets how to play defense, this team does not deserve to make the playoffs. If they continue to hang Freddy Andersen and Curtis McElhinney out to dry, they do not deserve to make the playoffs.

They are skilled enough to do it, but their play lately dictates otherwise, so if they do end up making the playoffs, good for them, but it had better not be the result of their lack of trying.

Andrew Boehmer’s Take

At first glance, I thought my answer to the question would be an easy one. But, then I thought a little more about it. Why would saying ‘no’ seem compelling? Let’s explore the idea if I were to say no, I don’t care if the Leafs make the playoffs this year.

Answering no could be a way of saying that I’d rather have them do awful for the rest of the season and get another high draft pick. Or just that I care they miss it so we get a higher first rounder.

Is it not entirely bad for them to miss the playoffs and have another shot at the lottery, is it? At the very least, they could have one of the first 14 picks. Maybe they could pick up a solid defender that would fill a hole on the Leafs blue line.

But, I think that’s my only reasoning I could give for me wanting the Leafs to miss this season’s playoffs.

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It’s the only logical reasoning I could come up with why I wouldn’t want them to make the playoffs this year. Now, I’ll explain why I care that they do their very best to make it.

The Leafs organization has worked very hard to get to where they are. They’re in the toss to make it right now and should keep going in pursuit of the playoffs. Their rookies deserve it because of how they’ve played, writing their names in record books. The veterans have felt the youthful exuberance and are showing their true colors.

What about Shanny, Lou, and Babs? The entire Leafs management system. Don’t they deserve a playoff run a little earlier than expected? Yes, they do.

However, if the Leafs had gone all in at the trade deadline or rushed the rebuild, etc. I’d be a little frustrated because everyone who remotely likes the Leafs wants them to do things properly and create long-term solutions. No more short-term fixes.

We know that they didn’t do that, though. Which is good. So, yes. I want them to make the playoffs this year. I care deeply that they make it. It makes sense to give everyone on that team a feel for winning and some playoff experience, more so with such a young up-and-coming core.

Not all in, but give it your all is what I’d tell the Leafs. To some, that might mean the same thing. To me, all in means they would have sacrificed their future for a short-term fix. Giving it your all is trying your best and being the best team they can be.

Torrin Batchelor’s Take

No.

That seems blunt, so let me explain. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still a rebuilding team. This is still a year of growth. Yes, Auston Matthews and the young guns progress has probably accelerated things by a year, but this was always a year of growth.

Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas aren’t here to help Toronto go on a single playoff run. The Shanaplan is to build the Leafs into a perennial playoff contender, and eventually a series of deep and sustainable championship runs.

This isn’t a one and done group like the lockout shortened 2012 season. Now don’t get me wrong, if the Leafs get out of this mini-slump their in and actually secure a playoff berth, I will be cheering with the loudest of you.

Toronto Maple Leafs

If they ultimately fall short?

That’s more than okay too. In fact, I would argue it might be more beneficial to fall short and secure a Top10 pick and get a potential Top 2 or 4 defender in Timothy Liljegren or Callan Foote than being ousted in the first round by powerhouse Washington.

The Leafs have proven time and again that their defenders aren’t good enough. We have some nice pieces in Rielly, Gardiner, Zaitsev and Carrick. However, they seem to fill more along the lines of the 2,3,4,5 roles than the 1,2,3,4 roles.

That doesn’t seem like a big difference, but it absolutely can and has proven to be. Ultimately the Leafs have a plethora of skilled wingers and little to no Center depth or defensive depth. That only changes through the path we’re already on; hoarding picks and drafting well.

We can’t afford to have knee jerk reactions and trade future for now, like so many Ill-fated Leafs management groups on the past half century. Give the kids time to grow, unlike what most of the media has been saying we are not on a clock.

Yes, Matthews, Marner and Nylander are going to be more expensive in a few years. That’s plenty of time to surround them with the right pieces to hopefully win a cup.

Just calm down, and enjoy the ride.

Matthew Rodrigopulle’s Take

I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t think making the playoffs is all that important for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. With that said, missing the playoffs is excusable, but it should still be focused on.

From the beginning of the season, many people, including myself, pegged the Toronto Maple Leafs as a team who would finish amongst the bottom of the league once again. I thought that with such a young, inexperienced team, mistakes would be made, which is typical for rebuilding teams. I thought we would finish with another high draft pick who would be of use to our rebuild and get better in the next upcoming years.

To our surprise however, the Leafs exceeded expectations by a landslide, turning this bottomed out team into playoff contenders.

I’ll be honest here, I was originally a part of #TankNation. Another high draft pick in this year’s draft, particularly for a young defenceman like Timothy Liljegren, would have seemed like the perfect outcome for this season for me personally. We could have used this season to develop the young guys while working towards our rebuild.

At this point, it’s too late for that idea to be fulfilled.

The worst place a rebuilding team can finish is right outside the playoffs. In this scenario, they don’t get a playoff run, nor do they get a top 10 pick in the draft.

Sitting in limbo in this position is how many teams get stuck being mediocre. To continue the progression of a rebuild, you must achieve one or the other—a playoff run for experience or a high draft pick for the future.

I’m not necessarily saying that I would be upset if the Leafs miss the playoffs. Given my expectations set at the beginning of the season, it doesn’t matter as much to me as it would for some other fans.

However, the Leafs have to try and make the playoffs at this point or else their season is going to be unhelpful to the further progression of the rebuild. It’s too late to tank, so might as well go all the way with this playoff stuff.