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Toronto Maple Leafs: The Real, the Fake and the Upcoming Rivalries

By David Corcoran

TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 12: Radko Gudas #7 and Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers battle against John Tavares #91 and Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during Game Five of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 12, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 12: Radko Gudas #7 and Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers battle against John Tavares #91 and Ryan O'Reilly #90 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during Game Five of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 12, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Panthers defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 12: Linseman David Brisebois #96 drops the puck between Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers and John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA – MAY 12: Linseman David Brisebois #96 drops the puck between Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers and John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

Florida Panthers (A Real Rivalry)

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers have been in the same division since 2013-14, but it took until last year for you to feel like the heat had finally risen past room temperature.

All that needed to happen was for these two teams to meet in the second round of the playoffs this past Spring and five games later the two teams hated each other.

The series seemed to be quick as did last just five games, but it brought out some villains in the eyes of Maple Leafs fans led by Sam Bennett.

Whether it was body slamming rookie Matthew Knies to knock him out for the remainder of the season or sucker punching a defenseless Jake McCabe who was on his back on the ice, Bennett has become enemy #1.

This is all without talking about arguably the league’s number one villain Matthew Tkachuk.

Both teams are in the similar stages with their stars being in their mid 20s and competing for the top of the Atlantic Division so this could see the two teams have some feisty battles this upcoming season.

It won’t take long to see these two get at it, as the Toronto Maple Leafs will fly into Florida to face the Panthers on October 19 and after two more games, Toronto will finish their regular season in the state of Florida that may give a taste of what will come in the playoffs.

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