The Toronto Maple Leafs clinched the Atlantic Division on Tuesday night and will face the Ottawa Senators in the First Round of the playoffs.
As much as the division doesn't matter unless the team goes on a long playoff run, we need to understand just how important and special this season has been. There were some up's and down's but for the most part, this team stayed very consistent all season, ultimately winning the division.
If you look back at the history of this franchise, the last time they won the division was in 2000 (sorry the 2021 Covid Season doesn't count), then before that, it was 1938. The Leafs are one of the most historic franchies in NHL history, yet they've only won the division three times in 87 years.
By looking at that one stat alone, you should realize very quickly how special this year was. The team reached 50 wins for the second time and will finish with the sixth best winning percentage in franchise history. For a season that didn't feel that unique, they accomplished things that they've only done a few times in their 108-year history.
I think the biggest reason why this season didn't feel too special was because we've seen this before. For the past nine years, the Leafs have continued to make the playoffs as a regular season juggernaut before struggling in the playoffs.
However, during some of those regular seasons, there have at least been storylines that have kept us intrigued throughout. The race for the Atlantic Division has obviously been important, but last year we watched as Auston Matthews chased history, which kept us glued for every game. He seemingly scored every night, reaching 69 goals, breaking his previous record of 60 goals,
Maple Leafs capture the Atlantic Division
This Leafs season has essentially been boring, because the team has played differently under Craig Berube. It's not a bad thing because they've produced a lot of wins, but they've cleaned their game up defensively, which has led to a lot less 6-5 games than in previous seasons.
With the Atlantic Division victory, the Leafs will now face the Ottawa Senators, which should bring us hope as the Senators have never beaten the Leafs in a playoff series before. Don't fact-check me on this, but the Senators are the only team who never beaten the Leafs in a playoff series. However, the Senators have a 3-0 season lead over Toronto this year, so maybe it's different.
Either way, winning the division means that the Leafs will now have home-ice advantage guaranteed in the First and Second Round, which is huge, and since they face Ottawa, they'll have home-ice advantage for all seven games, if the series goes that long. The Battle of Ontario is going to be filled with Leafs fans in Ottawa and I can't wait to see that arena covered in blue-and-white.
Winning the Atlantic Division is a big accomplishment, but it doesn't gurantee playoff success, so although we should celebrate it, we shouldn't spend too much time doing so. The playoffs will start this weekend against Ottawa and let's hope it's a quick series, because if it goes seven games, there's no Patrick Lalime to bail us out this time around.