The Toronto Maple Leafs Do Not Have An Easy Path to the Semis

The Toronto Maple Leafs have to beat the Montreal Canadiens and one of the Edmonton Oilers to get out of the Canadian Division.

Now, this might seem like it’s easy, but it’s not. The Toronto Maple Leafs are a good team, and they could very well make it out of the North, but nothing is guaranteed, and certainly nothing is easy.

And even if it was, so what? The Leafs used to have it as hard as any team in the league so maybe they deserve a break (not that they’re actually getting one).

The Leafs, prior to this year, were in the Atlantic Division, which meant that no matter how good they were, they almost certainly would have to face either Tampa or Boston in the first round, and at worst, in the second.

So yes, the North is comparatively easy, but it’s not so easy that it’s a joke.  For instance, it is probably harder to climb a mountain than it is to beat Super Mario 3, but Super Mario 3 is still so hard that most people who claim to have beaten it are liars.

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Path to Glory

In the current version of the NHL, there is nothing like the Atlantic Division gauntlet for anyone to go through. Florida and Carolina have a lot of points, but they don’t have same kind of experienced Cup Winning decade-long-as-contender status that the Bruins and Tampa presented to the Leafs.

The Pittsburgh and Boston division is OK, but it’s mostly filled with ex-contenders that are on their last legs.  Pittsburgh is still a decent team and so is Boston, but they don’t strike fear the way they used to.

The Colorado and Vegas division has probably the NHL’s two best teams, but nobody is afraid of the Wild or Blues. The Blues and Wild face a similar situation to last year’s Leafs team, but neither of those teams is as good as the Toronto Maple Leafs were and I don’t think anyone thinks either team has a chance to win this year.

The North is underrated. Montreal isn’t a joke, and the Oilers are a completely legitimate Cup Threat.  And besides, the NHL is a league where goalies make all the difference and bad teams beat good teams in the playoffs at least three times out of ten.

The fact is that each contender has another contender to get by. The Penguins have to contend with the Capitals, and the Knights with the Avs, the Lightning with the Hurricanes, and the Leafs with the Oilers.  The Leafs path is certainly not injury any easier, and the only reason people might think it is is because they are underrating the Oilers.  It’s bizarre to underrate the Oilers, only the Leafs, Avs and Knights are truly better teams.

In the end, neither the Habs or Oilers are bad team, and both would have a minimum 40% chance (likely higher) of beating the Leafs .