The Toronto Maple Leafs have once again come up short in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, falling miserably to the Florida Panthers in seven games in the division finals. Despite having won a first round series for the second time in three years, many still wouldn’t deem the Maple Leafs' 2025 playoff run a success this time around.
That is because with the way their team was built, with legitimate Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube, their strong goaltending and defense, along with a fearsome offense, many expected much greater things for the Leafs this year. As a result, this outcome no doubt has become another postseason failure for the Buds.
Taking everything into consideration, which Leafs were the most to blame for their underwhelming showing in the playoffs? Here, we will take a look at 5 Maple Leafs candidates that may have contributed to their earlier than expected exit from the postseason.
5 Toronto Maple Leafs most to blame for postseason failure this year
Bobby McMann
During the regular season, feisty winger Bobby McMann was without question one of the breakout players for the Leafs this season. Seeing time primarily on the second and third lines, McMann established career highs in goals (20), assists (14) and points (34) while playing a total of 74 games for Toronto this year. More importantly, he was a noticeable force whenever he took the ice and often was among the best grinders on the team.
However, prior to the playoffs, McMann fell into quite the funk, registering zero goals and just one assist in his final 11 games of the 2024-25 season. That dreadful slump unfortunately followed him into the postseason as he became a non-factor for the Leafs for the bulk of their playoff run. In 13 games of action, McMann managed just 18 shots and three assists while averaging over 12 minutes a night.
As a key component of the Leafs secondary scoring during the regular season, by going goalless in 24 straight games to end the year, he inadvertently played a hand in contributing to the team’s failure to go far once again in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That was because it enabled the opposition to concentrate their efforts in shutting down the Leafs top two lines as a result with minimal threat from the bottom-six.