The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost in the first round yet again despite playing a close to perfect playoff series. It sucks to lose, but losing by just one goal, in the deciding game of a series against a team that appears to be on their way to a third straight Stanley Cup is still respectable.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, despite losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games, are trending in the right direction.
Why?
Because they forced the Lightning to play their best game and a perfect series in order to progress.
Tampa then slaughtered the Panthers in four and are very likely to make their third Stanley Cup Final in a row. Their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs “was one of the toughest series we’ve probably played. They have everything” Steven Stamkos (via ESPN).
As the Leafs are not far away from their goal of winning the Stanley Cup, they should stay the course and do their best to keep the team together… Except that the salary cap won’t allow that. So, what can they do to remain in their current state?
Here, I will go over three decisions the Maple Leafs should make.