A Wild Playoff Trend Continues For the Toronto Maple Leafs
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs officially wrapped up, another offseason begins for the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, before we dive into that, let's take a look at a very intriguing stat that has followed the Leafs in 8 of their last 9 playoff exits.
Most fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs have probably heard of the stat that involves their team losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Finalist, which was true in 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
However, if we dive deeper, we can find another wild stat that has followed the Leafs in almost every one of their recent playoff losses.
With the Florida Panthers winning the 2024 Stanley Cup, we can see that in eight of their last nine playoff appearances, the team that defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs were then defeated by the eventual champions.
Let's take a trip down memory lane and take a look at all of these playoff losses.
A Wild Playoff Trend Continues For the Toronto Maple Leafs
2013:
The 2013 Toronto Maple Leafs infamously lost in game seven of the first round to the Boston Bruins, who then battled their way to the Stanley Cup Final. In that final series, the Bruins fell short in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.
2017:
The 2017 Leafs went from 30th in the NHL a year prior to shocking everyone and making the playoffs. In these playoffs, the Leafs battled hard against the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, but lost in six games.
The Capitals then lost in the following round to their nemesis and eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
2018:
This year is the lone year in recent memory that actually does not fall into this wild playoff trend.
While the Leafs did lose to the Bruins in round one, Boston was then defeated by Tampa Bay in the second round, who were then defeated by Washington in the conference finals.
2019:
Once again, the Leafs fell to the Bruins in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 2019, the Bruins lost only two more games before advancing to the final, where they were just one win away from winning Lord Stanley, but came up short to the St. Louis Blues.
Now let's go take a look at the years 2020-2024.
2020:
In 2020, the Leafs lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round. The Blue Jackets were then subsequently defeated by the eventual champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
2021:
2021 saw the Leafs failed to advance in past round one (again), but this time fell to eventual finalist, the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs fell in five games in the Stanley Cup Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won their second Cup in a row.
2022:
In 2022, the Leafs took on the previously mentioned Lightning, and while they put out a strong performance, they fell short in game seven yet again.
The Lightning then lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche, ending their pursuit of a third-straight championship.
2023:
This was the year the Leafs finally made it to round two, but their time was short lived. They lost in five games to the Florida Panthers, who then lost to eventual champions, the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
2024:
After a five-year hiatus, the Leafs took on the Bruins in round one yet again. After another game seven loss to their rivals, Boston then took on the Florida Panthers in round two, who defeated the Bruins and went on to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
In short, it's safe to say the Leafs have played some phenomenal teams in recent playoff years. Now, would the Leafs have defeated these eventual champions had they played them? Likely not, but it's always fun to speculate.
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Regardless, when the Leafs do eventually win that elusive Stanley Cup, it'll be even sweeter.