Though they haven't been a top team all year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a vitual lock for the playoffs.
By winning seven of their past ten games (note: this was written ahead of last night's game) the Toronto Maple Leafs are all but 100% guaranteed to be a playoff team come spring.
The Leafs are coming off a win againt the Flyers that, while it wasn't pretty, gave them the exact results they were looking for. Similar to many of their games this year, it wasn't pretty, but it was a win.
Though the Atlantic Division Title is likely not possible, barring a complete collapse, the Leafs will be opening the playoffs as either the third divisional seed or a wild card.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Virtually 100% Guaranteed to Make Playoffs
Granted, that makes the path through to the Stanley Cup almost impossible, but really, given the team's goalie and defense situations, it seems unnecessary to even worry about that at this point.
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit 12th overall in the NHL with a record of 28-16-8 for a .615 points-percentage. It's not what anyone was hoping for at the start of the season, but it's better than they deserve based on their play.
The Leafs are 7th in the East, though by points percentage they are 5th. Though they have a couple games in hand, they are ten points back of Boston and Florida, so barring a miracle, the division title seems out of reach.
They currently are the 3rd ranking team in the Atlantic ahead of both Detroit and Tampa by points-percentage.
Should the Leafs fail to hold off Tampa or Detoit, the Metro teams they would have to beat for the Wild Card are way behind them. As much as the Leafs need improvements, they are clearly better than Tampa and Detroit, and should have no trouble finishing ahead of either team.
They are currently six points and have a game in hand on the Devils. The Islanders and Capitals are no threat, and the Penguins just lost Guentzel. I think both the Penguins and Devils will ultimately make the playoffs, but it is the Flyers and Red Wings who will ceed their current playoff spots, and not the Toronto Maple Leafs.
So while the Leafs aren't exactly playing like the Cup Contender we expected to start the year, they are 100% locks to make the Playoffs and have won seven of their last ten games.
Since the playoffs are a foregone conclusion, it's time for GM Brad Treliving to start making additions in order to give them a chance to win when it counts. Number-one on that list is a goalie because Ilya Samsonov cannot possibly be on the playoff roster.