At the time of writing this, The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently tied with the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division. Both teams feature identical records of 22-13-2, with 37 games played each, and both squads have a +10 goal differential.
Despite all the criticism for their inconsistencies this year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still first in the division, tied with last year's Stanley Cup Champions, and are only five points back of third place in the entire NHL.
The Leafs have had some tough luck in their playoff draws recently, as despite being a strong regular season team themselves, the Leafs are stuck in a division with perennial post-season participants Boston, Tampa Bay, and the aforementioned Florida. On top of this, the top three active playoff streaks in the NHL are all held by Atlantic Division teams (Boston, Tampa Bay, and Toronto themselves).
But the Leafs find themselves in a spot they haven't seen in years, top of the division almost halfway through the season, and they need to finish with that title at the end of the year.
The Maple Leafs Need to Win the Atlantic Division this Season
As mentioned before, the Leafs have been in a division with some of the NHL's best teams over the last decade, and with the Eastern Conference champion also coming from their division every season since 2019.
Furthermore, the President's Trophy winner has also been an Atlantic Division team every year since 2019, with the exception of the 2021 shortened season, and the 2023-24 year, where an Atlantic Division team, the Florida Panthers, won the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs have had tough luck with their divisional rivals always seeming to be either the #1 regular season team, the cup finalists, the Stanley Cup Champions, or sometimes more than one at the same time.
But this year, the Leafs finally have a chance to be the Atlantic Division champs themselves, ensuring an easier first round opponent, and setting themselves up for that inevitable deep playoff run.
A division title would give the Leafs a potential first round matchup of the Ottawa Senators, who haven't reached the playoffs since 2017, the Boston Bruins, who have the 22nd-ranked goal differential, or the Tampa Bay Lightning, who the Leafs beat in six games with Ilya Samsonov as their goalie.
Now, losing to the Sens or Bruins (again) in a first-round playoff series would be the Leafiest thing of all time. But with that being said, these are two teams the Leafs should beat in a seven-game series.
A fully-healthy Leafs team with a couple of trade deadline upgrades should be able to beat almost any team come playoff time, and winning the division is the first step to a Leafs Stanley Cup.