Toronto Maple Leafs: Lessons Learned from the Raptors Playoff Run
The Toronto Maple Leafs can learn quite a bit from their arena roommate as the Raptors celebrate their first championship title.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors each call Scotiabank Arena their home. The main difference between the two is that this year, one of them was able to get it done and win their respective leagues championship.
On Thursday night, the Raptors did just that to cap off a gruelling but rewarding playoff run and sending the city and country into a frenzy. While some may put asterisks beside it because of the plethora of injuries the Golden State Warriors suffered, it remained competitive until the very end and was a joy to watch all the way through.
In a lot of ways, this was the climactic end to what was a tiring 6-year stretch where the team came up short in the postseason time and time again. It also put an exclamation mark a 24-year period between the birth of the franchise, the hills and valleys in between, and this moment. And it put to bed a 26-year drought of championships for the 3 major sports teams in this city and giving the other two franchises hope of one day achieving the same feat.
This brings us back to the Leafs, who were one of the many local teams showing their support throughout the run. Like the Raptors were a few years ago, the Leafs are an up-and-coming team that is looking to go deeper into spring and get their hands on the trophy that has eluded them for years.
The arch that got them there isn’t quite the same, and the same can be said for getting to the ultimate destination. But in between, there’s a lot the Leafs can learn from their roommates in what it takes to be a champion. It can be summarized in three key points:
- Experience in the playoffs is critical for long-term success,
- Only make a bold move when absolutely necessary and,
- It takes a full team effort, regardless of the circumstances or any obstacles, to win.