Even the last minute addition of 550 medical personnel to the stands couldn’t stop the Toronto Maple Leafs from choking away their series lead to Montreal Monday night. This latest setback to the Kyle Dubas regime is just the latest example of the Leafs snatching defeat from the jaws of victory come playoff time.
When hockey fans think of memorable Leafs “chokes” in the postseason, most flash back to 2013 against the Bruins. Leading 4-1 in Game 7 with only 10:44 remaining in the 3rd period, Boston came roaring back to shock Toronto in overtime and rip the still beating heart out of Leafs fans chests. Yet where the Bruins series left many fans shell shocked, unsure of how to process what just happened to their beloved buds, 2021 was a different kind of agony all together.
2013 could be likened to clean deathblow, over before viewers knew what happened. This year however was a death by a thousand papercuts, as the Leafs roared out to a 3-1 series lead, only to watch it slowly slip through their fingers over 5 long days. Cue the 2016 Warriors comparisons (and there will be plenty), and weeks worth of over analyzing from the Toronto sports media for the foreseeable future.
For a team that was the class of the North division all season long, bowing out in the first round to an inferior Montreal team is going to make for some interesting exit interviews in the 6ix to say the least. Keep in mind, this is the same Canadiens team that every single Sportsnet analyst chose to lose this series, even the ones whose job it is to cover the team day in day out:
Marner & Matthews, who come with a $22.6M cap hit, were non-existent in this series. The 4th and 5th leading scorers in the NHL this season were snake bitten all series long, with Montreal’s Phillip Danault effectively shutting down the high flying pair over the course of the past 7 games. Instead, it was the old adage of “a hot goalie can steal a series” which held especially true this year. Carey Price, who was criticized relentlessly in the media throughout his injury-filled 2020-21 campaign, earned every penny of his $10.5M contract turning away shot after shot and willing his team across the finish line.
Yes there will be questions aplenty to answer in Toronto this offseason. Despite being the league’s 2nd most valuable franchise, and possessing one of the largest fan bases on the continent, supporters haven’t had much to cheer about of late when it comes to their team. Toronto celebrated their 50th anniversary without a cup in 2017, and the drought will be extending this year as well. More concerning than that however is the fact that the Leafs haven’t even advanced past the first round since 2004. Which means that by the time next year’s playoffs roll around, a Maple Leaf fan could have been born, gotten their drivers license, graduated high school, and be a first year university student without having seen their team ever win a series in the playoffs. A feat that 31 other franchises in the league will no doubt be more than happy to remind Leafs fans of whenever the occasion presents itself.
So while Montreal has every right to feel like they earned this series victory, most fans are likely of the opinion that the Leafs “choked” away this series than the Habs won it. In a year where people’s livelihoods have been turned upside down, entire countries have shut down, lives have been lost, and normalcy was nowhere to be found, at least one thing remains constant: the Leafs can’t get out of the first round.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner