3 Reasons Toronto Maple Leafs Won’t Win the Stanley Cup

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The funniest line in professional hockey over the past few decades is your one friend who says the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win the Stanley Cup this year.

How in the world could the Toronto Maple Leafs actually win the championship? This team has been tortured since their last Stanley Cup in 1967 and haven’t even reached a final since. For the most famous franchise in hockey, it’s a shame that they’re not always competitive because the sport would be better if they were.

The same applies in other professional sports. When the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and New York Knicks are all competitive, the sport is better. You don’t want those teams to suffer, although their fanbases can be brutal to listen to.

Leafs nation is always loud, but there hasn’t been much to be confident about lately. The team continues to be a regular season giant, but when the playoffs start, they vanish.

They can’t even win a playoff round to give this city hope, but instead lose in the most traumatic way possible. I almost feel like fans would be happier if they got swept compared to the scrutiny of losing in Game 7.

I’ll always have hope because you need to if you’re a real fan, but I’m obviously pessimistic that they’ll actually win a Stanley Cup this year. As a result, here are three reasons why the team won’t win a championship this year.

May 14, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza . Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 1 The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Cursed

It’s been 19 years since a playoff round victory and 56 years since their last Stanley Cup.

Harold Ballard cursed the team in the 1980s, Kerry Fraser cursed them in the 1990s and then John Ferguson Jr. cursed them in the 2000s.

I wouldn’t really say that anything specifically has cursed them in the 2010s and 2020s, except for the fact that they can’t win.

There’s nothing holding them back except themselves and because they have a Maple Leaf on their chest, they will continue to lose.

Similar to the Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs, some teams just lose and the Toronto Maple Leafs are that team. For some sick reason, the most famous hockey team in the world is cursed and they won’t win.

I have no idea what play it will be right now but there will be something that happens that causes the Leafs to lose. Last year, it was Alex Kerfoot’s inability to score and a terrible third period in Game 6, with the year before being multiple overtime giveaways and a 3-1 collapse.

I feel like we’ve hit the breaking point, but there’s something that hasn’t happened yet and that will happen this year. I hate to say it, but it’s bound to happen.

TORONTO, CANADA – FEBRUARY 18: Ryan O’Reilly #90 skates in his 1st game as . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Too Much Change at the Deadline

Everyone loved the moves that Toronto made at the NHL Trade Deadline, but it could have been too many moves when the team was playing well.

Toronto had one of the best records in the NHL but they decided to change almost 50 percent of their line-up and that could come back to haunt them.

Over the past few weeks, Sheldon Keefe has continued to change up his lines, which is something that should have been fixed months ago.

When you’re almost in April, you don’t have to be figuring things out still. Instead, you’d want to have everything figured out and fine-tuning your line-up.

Auston Matthews has been playing with brand-new linemates, while the Leafs defense hasn’t been secured, all while we have no idea who’s going to start Game 1.

Also, with Ryan O’Reilly being injured, that missed time could really hurt the line-up as he hasn’t had time to gel with his teammates.

He was a huge addition, but we’ve only seen eight games of him to really know what he’s going to bring. As a result, a lot of his learning is going to have to happen in the playoffs, which isn’t great.

Change can be good, but in this case, it could come back to bite them.

Oct 8, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray (30) warms up before playing the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: Goaltending

I don’t know about you but when Game 1 of the playoffs start, I have no idea who’s starting for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

You could make the argument for both goalies, although logically it should be Ilya Samsonov right?

Samsonov has the better stats and is playing better, but Matt Murray’s playoff experience makes him a viable option too. If you’re Sheldon Keefe, what are you going to do?

Are you going to go with the hotter goalie or the guy with experience?

That decision is going to be the biggest one that Keefe has had to face thus far as a coach and if he makes the wrong decision, the Leafs are done.

Also, although Murray has fantastic previous playoff stats, why should we assume he just plays great again this year?

As for Samsonov, why should we assume he’s any good in the playoffs too? He has very little experience in big games, so that inexperience mixed with Murray’s tough play could really hurt them.

Next. Leafs New Lines are Unstoppable. dark

We’ll see what happens but their goaltending could prove to be a bigger hurdle than we expect this postseason.

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