The Toronto Maple Leafs Lose to the Stanley Cup Finalists…Again

For the 3rd straight season, and the 4th time in the last 5 seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the eventual runner-up.

In 2019 the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins.

In 2021 they lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

In 2022 they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This past postseason, the Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers.

And if you really want to be picky, the Leafs also lost to the eventual finalists in 2013, that being Boston again.

All their opponents made the Cup final and came up just short.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Lose to the Cup Finalists…Again

This storyline comes up basically every playoff year for the Leafs. Fans of the Leafs and hockey analysts love to speculate “what if” scenarios about what would happen if the Leafs actually won against any of those opponents.

In 2019 and 2022 specifically, many people believed the Leafs first-round matchups “was the true conference finals”. What they’re referring to is the Leafs’ opponents, Boston and Tampa, respectively, both teams faced fairly weak opponents on their way to the finals. Many believe if Toronto had won their first-round series, they would’ve made the finals themselves.

While it is fun to speculate, obviously there are no ways to tell who would’ve won without playing them.

People say this statistic isn’t a bad thing, as it shows the Leafs almost always have a tough path to the Stanley Cup, and that they manage to put up a strong fight against strong teams. It could also mean the Leafs are unlucky, as they always seem to be tasked with beating strong teams on a hot streak. Another thing is the Leafs play the ever-strong Atlantic Division, which has produced a Stanley Cup finalist every year (including both in 2021) since 2018.

Regardless, the Leafs still have not made a Cup final of their own since 1967.

All those things listed above are true, and are the Leafs unlucky? Sure they are, but every team gets unlucky at some point. Is it a good thing that the Leafs are losing to Cup-contending teams? I suppose it’s better than losing to a team that gets swept in the next round, but even so, a loss is a loss, and fans are getting impatient with the lack of playoff results.

However, when the Leafs do win that Stanley Cup, it will be even sweeter.