Toronto Maple Leafs: How the NHL's Best Young Team Supposedly Failed

Toronto Maple Leafs: How the NHL’s Best Young Team Supposedly Failed

TORONTO,ON - JANUARY 22: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on January 22, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Oilers 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

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Feb 8, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Mitchell Marner Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

Interlude to Say Something About the Leafs Star Players

If your star players play out-of-their minds and you lose, it is likely a problem of depth. If you can blame your depth, then dumping almost all your money into a tiny handful of stars is likely a bad move.

If your star players go weirdly cold (*or get kicked in the face and miss the series) and you still have to get unlucky in like five crazy ways to lose, this isn’t a problem of depth. In fact, it shows how awesome your depth was that you nearly overcame a weird sabbatical of your stars.

But this is Toronto and if you were expecting logic then I feel sorry for you buddy.

Bottom line is this: in his first five years in the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon won zero playoff series and missed the playoffs three out of five times. Steven Stamkos also missed the playoffs in four of his first five years.

Matthews and Marner may not have won a series yet, but they also haven’t ever missed the playoffs.

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