The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Eastern Conference: Playoff Locks and Contenders

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not having a good off-season, but due to their pre-existing excellence, they are absolute and total locks to make the playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a weird team because they constantly make bad decisions about who should surround their superstars, but their superstars are so good that it almost doesn't matter.

I mean, it matters a bit - they certainly haven't won anything, and I recently came across a blurb in the Toronto Star that mentioned that no team had ever been this good for this long in the regular season while failing so badly in the playoffs.

Like, not just no hockey teams either - no teams of any kind.

It's not the kind of record you want to have, but it does make you think - maybe this team isn't as bad as everyone says? Maybe they really just have been snake-bitten in the playoffs?

I mean, I've been saying that for eight years so you know I believe it. I don't think anyone else does, but I ride with the Core 4 to the end.

Besides the Toronto Maple Leafs, which other seven teams will make the Eastern Conference playoffs next season?

While obviously we don't know for sure, we can make some educated guesses.

The fact is, however, that the NHL is a salary capped professional league and injuries and luck play almost as big a part as roster construction in deciding who will be good and who won't be.

Still, some things, like that ads on jerseys are disgusting tributes to greed and avarice, or Columbus not making the playoffs, can be taken for granted.

We know the Leafs are in and Columbus is out. The rest is just guessing, but here goes: