If there has ever been a team like the current Toronto Maple Leafs, then I don’t know about them.
The history of professional sports is very limited in comparison to the billions of years the (round) earth has existed for, but be that as it may, there still has never been a team quite like the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently icing.
They were innovative, progressive, filled with talent and dripping with excitement – six years ago.
They aren’t the first team to fail to overcome projections and expectations, but to my knowledge, no team has stuck so thoroughly to their beliefs in the face of failure. Now, in my opinion, this is commendable and not stubborn or misguided because the statistics say the results are not indicative of what happened.
To build towards a goal, only to fail to achieve that goal is frustrating. But when that happens, you must ask the right questions about your failure in order to respond to it properly. In the NHL, you typically usually take a loss pretty badly and respond in the worst way possible.
The Toronto Maple Leafs do not respond like a team that lost because of their construction, but as a team that lost due to reasons beyond their control. Is this wise or foolish? I suppose time will tell.
Toronto Maple Leafs the Most Unique Situation in Sports History
I think it’s wise because on paper the Leafs have the best roster. Statistically, they have the best roster. But the best roster doesn’t always win, and changing it just for the sake of change is as bad as not being able to recognize your problems.
And the Leafs have never once lost in the playoffs because of goaltending, defense, leadership, being too soft, or too skilled, or not tough enough.
They lost to Washington with a young team that was punching over it’s head.
Then they continued to punch up as they took the Cup Champion Bruins to back-to-back game 7s, both of which saw Nazem Kadri suspended.
These three losses were not fun at the time, but Marner and Matthews were 18, 19 and 20 and the team lost to clearly superior opponents they had no business beating. They over-achieved and those loses were the symbol of future greatness.
Ironically, if they had failed to make the playoffs in those years, and only currently had three straight losses in the first round, people would likely perceive the Leafs roster today in a more positive light.
Now those three losses add to the total of SIX STRAIGHT making the team seem much less successful than they are in reality.
Because the Toronto Maple Leafs have been very successful. Since firing worst-coach-in-team-history Mike Babcock, they have been one of the top teams in the NHL over three years.
Sheldon Keefe has one of the highest winning percentages of any coach, ever.
Their star studded lineup is still young, gets better every year, is coming off a team record for wins and points, was 4th overall despite the 5th worst goaltending in the league, and has two x MVP candidates and a ton of other stars and future stars.
But even with the best players in team history and the best roster in team history, there just is not much excitement for this team right now. Six straight losses in the playoffs, three of them demoralizing will do that.
That’s what is so unique about this team. They are the team you wait your whole life to see your favorite team become, but circumstances (results, really) have hidden that fact.
Weird Results Alter Perception
The loss to Columbus was six months after the season stopped, and was played in a “bubble” and was only five games long. The Leafs shot 2% and the loss was so improbable as to be not even worth worrying about.
Then the Montreal series. Sure they should have won, and they deserved to. Improbable events do happen.
Then vs Tampa they won five times, but only three of them counted. What more could you want from this team? They never quit, they don’t stop, and they showed great heart and determination in beating the back-to-back champs. The results for both games six and seven went against them, even though they played their hearts out and deserved to win.
And yet, with all the good. Even though Matthews is only 24 and just entering his prime, there isn’t the excitement this team earned and had snatched away from them with unlucky results.
This is the best roster with the best coach and best GM in team history. This team would be the vast, vast favorite to win the Stanley Cup if this roster wore any other jersey. The baggage that comes with this version of the Toronto Maple Leafs is hiding the best team anyone has ever assembled in the cap era.
The stats, the roster, the ages of the players, the cap situation, and the up-and-coming supplements are creating the perfect storm for this year’s Leafs to be one of the best teams ever. They should enter the season as extremely heavy favorites, but the fact that so many people are so blind to their charms is the makes this the most unique team in sports history.