Is the 2022-23 Toronto Maple Leafs Season a Success Already?

The Toronto Maple Leafs won their first playoff round in 19 years, so is the 2022-23 season a success?

When you break it down, this is the most successful Toronto Maple Leafs season in nearly two decades, but should fans/management be satisfied? For a team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 are we greedy to suggest this season doesn’t matter unless a championship is won?

I’d like to think that fans are smart enough to consider this season a success already, but at the same time, I don’t think anyone should be satisfied, yet.

Once you reach the second round of the playoffs, things get real. You’re only one of eight teams left in the race and now have a legitimate chance at winning a Stanley Cup. Heavy hitters like the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche are all on the golf course now, so there’s a real opportunity.

The last time the Leafs had a true opportunity like this was in 2021, but they blew it.

With a 3-1 series lead, Toronto managed to lose three games in a row, ultimately losing in Game 7 of the first round to a mediocre Montreal Canadiens team. Playing in a weak “All-Canadian Division” all season, it looked very likely that Toronto could reach a Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years, but instead lost in a brutal way to one of their biggest rivals.

Toronto Maple Leafs Shouldn’t Be Satisfied, Yet

Regardless of how great your team is, you only get so many shots at winning a championship in professional sports. The San Jose Sharks were a team that continued to be great in the regular season, eventually reaching the Stanley Cup Finals but never won.

Do you think their fanbase is satisfied with finishing second? Absolutely, not.

They would trade 20 straight seasons of missing the playoffs for one Stanley Cup, but they never got it done during their prime.

As a result, the Leafs don’t want to be the modern-day Sharks.

Winning a playoff round is nice, but this team is way better than one round. At the bare minimum, this team should be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals and as fans, it’s time to get greedy and think that they can actually win a Stanley Cup.

That may sound like a crazy thought, but they’re playing a team that had 19 less regular season points in the second round and just beat a team that went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals in the first round.

If they’re able to get past the Florida Panthers, they’ll be facing a Carolina Hurricanes or New Jersey Devils team that haven’t quite been the power-house’s of the hockey community of late. They’re both good teams, but they’re very beatable.

Once you get past them, then it’s one more best-of-seven series and anything is possible. Win four games and all of a sudden the curse is over and you’re champions once again.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it’s time to get greedy Leafs Nation.