The Toronto Maple Leafs has always had it tough being in the same division as the perennial Stanley Cup contenders in the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning over the past decade.
For whatever reason, it just seemed like the Toronto Maple Leafs playoff route beyond the first round was always blocked by one or the other, as their journey would usually end at the hands of one of them.
Well, you can now add another juggernaut to the ranks with the rapid emergence of a dominant Florida Panthers squad in the past couple of years.
Just a few years ago, the Panthers slowly but steadily began their ascension up the standings as they started building a strong defensive corps that could matchup against any of their opposing team’s offensive attack.
However, their lack of offensive firepower and some suspect goaltending had kept them from reaching the next level. As a result, they would put up respectable regular season numbers, but ultimately suffered some early round playoff exits as a result.
The Rapid Rise of the Florida Panthers is Bad News for the Toronto Maple Leafs
But what has triggered the Panthers to suddenly be a force to be reckoned with was their improbable first round comeback against the Bruins from last season in the playoffs. By coming back from down 3-1 in the series to defeat Boston, it gave the team the strong mentality that if they worked hard together as a group in their system, they could beat practically anyone in the league.
From there, the Panthers have evolved into an unstoppable force. Their offense, defense and goaltending have all rounded out and has been as complete as one could imagine, and the way that their players all believe in each other and execute their coach’s plans to perfection have been a sight to behold. If they continue to maintain the way that they play now and for the near future, don’t look now but they could potentially build a dynasty as a result.
If that is indeed the case, that could spell big time trouble for the Maple Leafs. Not like the pesky Bruins and relentless Lightning were already enough, but now with the Panthers making the leap into the upper echelon in the league by becoming even stronger than the other two, it has developed into an absolute nightmare for the Leafs.
Forget about trying to win a Stanley Cup, Toronto would be lucky to even make it out of their own division if they are forced to run the gauntlet involving any combination of the Bruins, Lightning and Panthers each year.
From the looks of it, like it or not, it appears as though their futility streak of not winning a Stanley Cup could be extended a little longer until perhaps some regression in the trio occurs. Either that or the Toronto Maple Leafs better start getting their act together to get themselves back on par with the rest of the elite to have any chance of success going forward.