Tough Enough? The Question the Maple Leafs Must Answer in Game 7

The Toronto Maple Leafs going through an ironic identity crisis.

Tough enough, but not skilled enough, said no one! At least not in the Kyle Dubas era of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

For as long as the Leafs have been rebuilding, their critics have complained about defense, toughness, and many other things.  One thing no one complained about? Offense.

The current Leafs are a far cry from Brian Burke’s rendition of the Leafs from 2008 to 2013 that apparently did have the proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence but still could never make the playoffs.

But, boy were they tough. Certainly tough enough with the likes of Jamal Mayers, Brad May, Wayne Primeau, Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, and Mike Brown.

Under Burke’s tough-enough formula, the Leafs had one season of some success – the lockout shortened 2012-13 season – but Burke was already gone by then.

(Un)forgettable May 13, 2013.

Toronto Maple Leafs Offense Is Sleeping

The Leafs would miss out on the playoffs thereafter until 2016-17.

Cleary, there’s a hard-to-find sweet spot, and too much of anything is going to blow up in your face.  At the other end of the spectrum is Kyle Dubas and his mantra of speed and skill.

And no matter what he does to tip the scales by carefully adding other desirable qualities, it’s seemingly never strong or good, or tough enough.  Maybe it’s time to realize there is no formula that guarantees success and that due to goalies, things sometimes get weird.

The Leafs added lots of toughness this offseason, and here is a test of mettle – a first-round playoff matchup vs. the team with the most hits in the regular season:

• The Canadiens dished out 27.89 hits per game (1st)
• The Leafs sat comfortably way down the line with 17.77 (27th)

One thing about hits: you aren’t laying a lot of them if you always have the puck, which the Leafs usually do.  The Leafs actually faired well against the Canadiens in the regular season – 7-2-1 – despite the deficit in hits, and they could have won every game so far in the playoffs – and the ones they lost were not due to physical intimidation . They may not hit a lot, but they are indeed tougher with more drive and determination; they skated away with 15 points, after all.

But the playoffs is a different animal – it’s a beast, actually.

It’s faster, harder, and tougher.

In other words, it’s go-time. Time to see what you’re made of.

So, let’s take a quick look at what’s been revealed so far:

• Game 1 – Lost 1-2, outhit big-time 27 to 54.
• Game 2 – Won 5-1, outhit marginally 36-44.
• Game 3 – Won 2-1, outhit marginally 28-37.
• Game 4 – Won 4-0, outhit big-time16-40.
• Game 5 – Lost 3-4, outhit marginally 38-44.
• Game 6 – Lost 2-3, outhit considerably 27-44.
• Game 7 – May 31, 2021, Montreal @ Toronto

What’s most noteworthy is not always being outhit but being able to keep up at times.  The Leafs have done that in every game.  The critics said to get tougher, the Leafs went out and got tougher. They are still favored to win tonight, and if they don’t it will hardly be due to their phsyical game.  Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner need to show up.  That’s all. (all stats NHL.com).

This team is different, but how different and how much does it matter?

Let’s let Game 7 decide.