The Toronto Maple Leafs reward for enduring a painful 2015-2016 was winning the NHL Draft Lottery and the right to select Auston Matthews with the first overall pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs chose Matthews and a forever-searching franchise finally had legitimate hope of building a championship-caliber team. The selection of Matthews was preceded by the Leafs taking Mitch Marner fourth overall in 2015, and William Nylander eighth overall in 2014.
The reliable and steady Morgan Rielly was selected fifth overall in 2012. With Matthews in tow to join the others, the Maple Leafs had a core of talented players, and the future looked bright.
Visions of success and dreams of a title rightfully danced in the heads of Maple Leafs fans. Eight years later, the Leafs fantasy remains distant while a Western Canadian team full of stars is still chasing Lord Stanley's mug.
Production of Oilers Stars Something the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Only Dream Of
The Leafs first foray into the Stanley Cup Playoffs brought further hope for the future. The aforementioned core of players took a veteran, soon-to-be champion, Washington Capitals team to six games before bowing out in the first round.
It turned out to be a cruel foreshadowing of an all-too-familiar narrative. The Maple Leafs are seemingly stuck in neutral, with just one second-round appearance over the last eight postseasons.
The Leafs star players have bore the brunt of the criticism for the team's lack of success. Matthews, Marner, and Nylander have had spurts of success, but not enough to go on an extended run. Other factors such as a hot opposing goaltender, soft goals allowed by their netminders, and unfortunate luck have also played their part.
The Edmonton Oilers, with a similar blueprint, have found more success than the Leafs. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins are appearing in their second Western Conference Final. Evan Bouchard has blossomed into a dominant defenceman. To rub salt in the wound of Leaf fans, Zach Hyman continues to fill the net for his new team.
The Oilers have the top three scorers, and four of the top six, to this point of the playoffs. On top of that, McDavid and Draisaitl are among the top five in career playoff points per game. Only legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux are ahead of them.
Instead of dream-like playoff runs, the Maple Leafs are in a recurring nightmare. Their stars are again under the microscope for their underwhelming performance. Rumors swirl around the trading of Marner. They hired a new coach in hopes of getting better results.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans can take solace in the fact that the Oilers made a coaching change that helped turn their fortunes around. Also, Edmonton's final four appearances have not brought a championship.
Seeing McDavid and company still alive and scoring their way to a possible title, however, is a dream Toronto hoped to have on its own.