The Toronto Maple Leafs are doing their best to win the Atlantic Division and have home-ice advantage in the first round of the NHL playoffs. With the 2024-25 season coming to an end in two weeks, it is looking more and more like the Leafs will play the Ottawa Senators in the first round if they can maintain their division lead.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a very critical part of their season. Their lead in the Atlantic is not a significant one, and the rest of their schedule is filled with important games against divisional rivals like the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Every game from here on out should be viewed as a must-win game.
Once the playoffs begin, most eyes will be on the Leafs top performers. Players like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander are expected to produce. They are the ones making the big bucks after all. However, any team that has found success in the playoffs will tell you that winning playoff games sometimes falls onto the shoulders of an unlikely hero.
It is not always one of the top guys who wins the game or the series. Time and time again, players say that it's a total team effort, and it is. There will be games when the top guys are on a roll, but there will be other games when the team has to rely on secondary scoring and great goaltending to win a game. The Leafs have a few players who would classify as an unlikely hero for helping the team win a playoff game or series. Here's a look at those unlikely heroes.
Unlikely potential Playoff heroes for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Max Domi
I would consider Max Domi as the first player on my list of unlikely heroes for the Leafs in the 2025 playoffs. Domi had a down year in his first season with the Leafs, with nine goals and 47 points. However, his second season with the Leafs has been even worse (30 points) so far as of Wednesday morning. I think he is overdue for a points streak with the Leafs, and what better time to do it than in the playoffs? (All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Bobby McMann
Next on my list is Bobby McMann. He has found some recent success while playing on the third line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson. McMann has 20 goals and 33 points on the season and is a player that the Leafs could have used in the playoffs last season. Hopefully, he'll be able to stay healthy and help the Leafs this year. He can play up and down the lineup wherever head coach Craig Berube wants him, but if a line of him, Domi, and Robertson is clicking come playoff time, I hope Berube keeps them together.