The trade deadline has passed and now it's time to shift our focus from trade targets to who the Toronto Maple Leafs may play in the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still in the race for the Atlantic division so it has not been decided on who they'll play in the playoffs like in past years.
Both Florida teams are in play, while we still have an eye on the Wild Card race to see who would capture the top Wild Card spot and play the Leafs in round one if they won the Atlantic.
I will be ranking each team that is possible for the Leafs to play from the team I want to play the least, to who I want to play the most. Some of these aren't the most realistic options but each team is in the hunt for the Wild Card.
Potential Matchups
8. Florida Panthers
This pick is pretty self-explanatory. Florida is battling the Leafs for the Atlantic and after their deadline, they look even stronger and it is imperative the Leafs win the division to avoid Florida.
They added Seth Jones and Marchand as their two big deadline moves and I think both moves improve them significantly. Other teams having to play Marchand, Tkachuk and Bennett in a seven-game series will be a nightmare.
They have experience coming off back-to-back trips to the cup final and winning last year's Stanley Cup. We have also seen Florida manhandle the Leafs in a playoff series, beating them in five games during the 2022-23 playoffs.
The matchup of Matthews, who is already having a down year against Barkov would be tough to watch for Leafs fans.
If the Leafs matchup against Florida we have to hope this is a tired team after playing a lot of hockey over the last two seasons. Tkachuk is injured and likely out until the playoffs, Ekblad just received a 20-game suspension for the use of performance-enhancing drugs and will be out until game three of round one. Marchand is battling an injury as well and is currently week-to-week.
There are some hard miles on these guys but they look scary heading into the playoffs and are my favourite out of the East.