The Toronto Maple Leafs season ended in an utter disaster at the hands of the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their second-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The 6-1 thrashing was the second such defeat for Toronto in the series. So, instead of focusing on the usual main takeaways or key points, I’d like to drill down on one overall issue: The Core Four was nowhere to be found.
The Leafs narrowly avoided being shutout thanks to Max Domi’s third-period marker. The goal early in the third period briefly gave Toronto life. But then, the Panthers broke the Leafs’ backs with a goal 40 seconds later.
Meanwhile, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares seemed to check out.
The Core Four sat on the bench for the final minutes after the Cats added an empty-netter to make the game 6-1.
The disaster that became Game 7 against the Panthers, in Toronto, has no explanation. It was a total letdown for the long-suffering Maple Leafs’ fan base. While losing the game is one thing, not giving a full effort is another completely different story.
The second period, for instance, was a total blank. The Leafs managed just five shots on goal. The Panthers launched 18 and got three goals.
That was the difference.
The rest of the numbers look pretty even. But it was the Panthers who wanted the game more and subsequently dropped the hammer.
End of story. The offseason now begins.
Major changes looming on the horizon for Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s extremely hard to envision the Toronto Maple Leafs running with the same team next season. With Mitch Marner and John Tavares set to hit free agency, the Leafs could let them walk and take their combined $21+ million cap space and allocate it elsewhere.
There are plenty of areas the team needs to address. So, it’s fair to assume that the club will not bend over backward to meet Tavares or Marner’s demands. Marner, especially, will have a tough time leveraging his contract demands as he has zero pull at this point.
Of course, there’s always the chance that both players return to the club next season. But that’s something that remains to be seen.
If it were up to me, from a business perspective, Marner and Tavares are inefficient assets. Even if the Leafs could somehow drive their prices down, both players have failed to deliver when it has mattered most.
It’s a shame because Tavares and Maner are great hockey players. Tavares will likely land in the Hall of Fame. So, will Marner.
But their legacies could be incomplete unless they win a Stanley Cup, be it in Toronto or elsewhere.