Florida Panthers
After the “We Want Florida” chants back during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs that came back to bite them, do the Maple Leafs really want to face the Panthers right away when the postseason begins this year?
They may be struggling as of late, but who wants to face a team who has built a strong foundation from their goaltending, to their defense and all the way out to their prolific offense. Leafs fans certainly don’t need any reminders on how the Panthers masterfully held Toronto to just two goals in each of the five games during their dominant Conference Semi-Finals matchup win two years ago.
Moreover, Florida beefed up their lineup for the playoff run by adding elite defenseman Seth Jones and Leafs nemesis Brad Marchand to their already-intimidating roster. Together with the pesky Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, it could quickly remind Toronto of the playoff years when they were physically pulverized by the Boston Bruins in the past.
And we all know what the final results were in each of those cases. Also, the Leafs are only 1-2 against the Panthers so far this year, and narrowly squeaking out a 3-2 win in their last matchup behind a strong Anthony Stolarz performance. With that in mind, it would be nice if another team can wear down Florida somewhat before Toronto needs to face them at any point during their playoff run.
Montreal Canadiens
Many fans would probably want this matchup against the Montreal Canadiens given the extensive historical rivalry between the two franchises over the past century. Not only that, the Leafs are likely looking for redemption after the Canadiens knocked them out of contention with a surprising come-from-behind series win in 2021 after being down three games to one.
However, the Canadiens’ success this season has been fuelled by various young players including Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsky. Added to the solid play of journeyman Samuel Montembeault in net, Montreal has shocked the hockey world by confidently closing in on a playoff spot with just a few games to go.
Nevertheless, the Leafs currently hold a 2-1 advantage in their season series or date, having outscored them 11-5. If going even a little further back, Toronto has owned Montreal in recent years, having won seven of their last eight matchups dating back to 2023. Added to the fact that overcoming a Montembeault doesn’t seem as daunting as an Ullmark, Sergei Bobrovsky or Andrei Vasilevskiy, this potential matchup against the Canadiens could turn out to be quite favourable for the Maple Leafs.