BOSTON – SPORTS – The heartbreak echoes through Leafs Nation yet again. For the fourth time in 11 years, the Toronto Maple Leafs see their season fade away on the ice of TD Garden. Game 7, overtime, and another crushing handshake with the Boston Bruins.
But this time, the questions loom larger than ever.
How many faces in that Leaf dressing room will never wear the blue and white again? After all, they put up a valiant fight, buoyed by the return of Auston Matthews. A heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss, sure, but it’s the same story told on repeat.
One measly playoff series win in twenty years! Six straight Game 7 losses since 2013! The core – Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Rielly – their playoff record is a dismal 1-8. How can you possibly keep this group together?
That’s the million-dollar question for GM Brad Treliving. And what about coach Sheldon Keefe? Heck, is even team president Brendan Shanahan’s job safe? Maybe new team CEO Keith Pelley needs to clean house!
Keefe talks about the core needing to break through. But honestly, those words are empty at this point. Yeah, the team was ‘different’, but the same, gut-wrenching result isn’t.
You hear the same crushed voices in that room, year after year. Matthews talks about inches, Nylander about blurred vision and empty feelings. Excuses won’t bring the Cup back to Toronto.
Matthews, the Rocket Richard winner, guts it out for Game 7. Nylander battles back from migraines. That’s admirable. But the Bruins didn’t lead the last three games and STILL found a way. Their star, Pastrnak, delivers the knockout punch in overtime.
Meanwhile, how do you explain the Leafs’ scoring drought? All that firepower – Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares – eating up the salary cap, and they can barely muster two goals a game! The sputtering power-play is a disaster, a complete waste of talent.
And hey, Mike Babcock, of all people, offered advice to the Bruins. Guess what? It was the Leafs, AGAIN, too predictable in their failures.
So now what? Matthews and Nylander with new contracts, Marner with a year left… Treliving has a mess on his hands. Gut this ‘talented’ team that can’t deliver, or hope against hope for another year?
“It’s hard right now,” says Samsonov. No kidding. Another year, another familiar ache in the hearts of Toronto fans. This ain’t hockey. It’s a tragedy.
