If the Toronto Maple Leafs lose in the First Round to the Ottawa Senators, no player, or executive's job should be safe this offseason.
When you look back at the history of the Battle of Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dominated the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs. The Leafs have a 4-0 advantage and if that changes to 4-1 in two week's time, the fanbase should riot.
However, this year does feel different than previous year's. Not only did the Leafs win the Atlantic Division for the first time, but they played a defensive style of hockey that is more suited for the playoffs. Instead of turning on that playoff-style of hockey when Game 1 starts, they have seemingly been playing it for the entire year, which should be a huge benefit.
Head coach Craig Berube has been pretty strict with the 200-foot game and it's been very effective. Auston Matthews had his worst goal-scoring year of his career, but he still had 32 goals and 77 points, which for almost any other forward in the league, could be a career-year. It's not a bad thing that Matthews had a down-year, because his overall game was better and he can turn on that elite skill whenever he wants.
The Senators are a good team and it's a great story that they finally made the playoffs for the first time in seven years, but they are not even close to as good as the Leafs. The only spot where the Senators may have an advantage is their third-line, top two defensemen and maybe the hungriness and spirit to win that Brady Tkachuk has to win.
The Leafs don't have a player like Tkachuk and if they did over the past eight years, there's an argument to be made that they would have reached multiple Eastern Conference Finals' and maybe even a Stanley Cup. As much as Toronto is a great team, they still don't have that gritty forward who can cause issues to the opponent and drag his team to victory.
If Toronto loses against Ottawa, no player or executive is safe
I know that the team added Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev, which is great, but the one thing I do worry about is how much of an X-Factor that Tkachuk can be, especially since he has seven years of pent-up frustrustion, having never been in the playoffs. Not only that, but he watched his brother Matthew reach back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals over the past two years, so he's seen what it takes to win and is a player who should elevate his game in the biggest moment.
Despite the potential unleashing of Tkachuk, the Leafs are a more experienced team, arguably have a better goalie and overall defense, plus they have home-ice advantage. There is zero reason why they should lose to Ottawa and if they do, everyone should get fired and traded.
Although Mitch Marner and John Tavares had incredible seasons, the team can't re-sign them if they lose. Not only that, but Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving should be fired immediately after the final game, if they can't advance. As much as we do think this year is different, the same core is still a part of this team, so if they can't somehow find a way to win against a worse team, then they need to change the core and start over.
You still have Auston Matthews and William Nylander signed long-term, as well as most of the defense and goaltending, so you don't necessarily need to rebuild, but you can re-tool. If Tkachuk's feistyness is something that helps propels the Senators, then the Leafs need to find their own Tkachuk in the offseason and pay that player whatever they want.
The playoffs are never easy with the Leafs, but if this series goes seven games, or the team finds a way to blow another series, nobody should be safe and we should all band together to never watch a game again. But, that's not going to happen: Leafs in 5.