The Leafs’ decade of failure in 21 key moments

First of all, the Maple Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, a 58-year drought. Fans are understandably impatient.

in his first NHL season, Auston Matthews dragged the Leafs into the playoffs with 40 goals, losing in six games in the first round to the Washington Capitals.

In 2018, the Leafs suffered a seven-game setback in the first round against their rivals, the Boston Bruins. Toronto led early in the third period of the final game, but Boston scored 4 straight goals to win 7-4 down the stretch.

In 2019, the Leafs crossed swords with the Bruins for the second year running. Once again, Toronto came out on top, 5-1. The Ontarians led the series 3-2, but were unable to close the books.

One of the worst transactions of the modern NHL era was undoubtedly that of Nazem Kadri. On July 1, 2019, the Leafs traded him to the Colorado Avalanche, along with Calle Rosen and a third-round pick (Jean-Luc Foudy). In return, the Leafs got Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot and a sixth-round pick (Joe Miller). A clear advantage for the Avalanche, especially since they won the Stanley Cup with Kadri as a key player in 2022.

In February 2020, in a game between the Hurricanes and Leafs, Toronto took a 6-3 loss, and did so to an emergency goalie by the name of David Ayres. Carolina’s two goaltenders at the time, James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, had been injured, leaving Ayres, a zamboni driver, in charge of Toronto’s club-school ice, ironically. Ayres turned aside 8 of the 10 shots he faced, winning his first and only NHL game at the age of 42.

In 2020, the Leafs were feeling generous, sending colossus Mason Marchment to the Panthers for Denis Malgin. The result? Marchment, an effective power forward now a member of the Stars, has three NHL seasons of 45+ points. Malgin, meanwhile, has been out of the NHL since 2023…

In 2020, in the NHL bubble during COVID-19, we were entitled to a qualifying round, which could give access to the playoffs. The result? The Leafs had to give up their playoff spot to the Blue Jackets, as Columbus disposed of Toronto in five games, winning the final match 3-0.

After a series of failures, including the loss to Columbus, it was Mike Babcock’s turn to take the blame, as he was said to have had a complicated relationship with certain players, including Mitch Marner. He was replaced by Sheldon Keefe

In 2021, the Leafs traded for Nick Foligno of the Blue Jackets to add leadership to their roster. For a total of 11 games and no goals scored, Toronto paid first-round (Corson Ceulemans) and fourth-round (Dennis Hildeby) picks. A failure all round!

In 2021, still in the midst of a pandemic, the Leafs fell to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, despite holding a 3-1 lead. A third defeat in a Game 7 under the Matthews era.

On countless occasions, Maple Leafs fans have shown their displeasure with their team by throwing jerseys on the ice. It’s also not uncommon to see people setting fire to those famous Leafs vests too. You can tell that the Leafs’ crowd is really fed up with the team’s endless losses in key moments.

After taking a 3-2 lead in their first-round series against Tampa Bay, the Leafs ultimately lost in seven games… AGAIN. The more the years go by, the more it looks the same for Toronto.

The Leafs got their revenge on the Lightning in the first round in 2023. In the second round, Toronto fans were clamoring for a showdown with the surprising Panthers, with “We want Florida” chanting in the streets. They got their wish, as the Panthers outplayed the Maple Leafs in 5 short games.

At the end of the 2022-2023 season, Kyle Dubas set sail for Pittsburgh, replaced by Brad Treliving. Dubas was heavily criticized for the Leafs’ missteps over the years, so he lived through the collateral damage.

To copy/paste from their previous seasons, the Leafs again took a knee in game number seven, after leading a series 3-2. Another disappointment in the Queen City’s lap in 2024.

After Kyle Dubas a year earlier, it was Sheldon Keefe’s turn to lose his job in Toronto, in the wake of the Canadiens’ cumulative playoff losses. He was replaced by Craig Berube, an old-school and Stanley Cup winner coach.

Whether it’s Craig Berube, Sheldon Keefe or Mike Babcock, the Leafs’ old patterns remain. Toronto was defeated in a Game 7, but this time after a 2-0 lead, and they’ve had two 6-1 losses in their last three duels, all in front of their home fans…

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t made the playoffs since 2011, a 14-year hiatus. Even so, the Sabres have won more series than the Leafs since 2004-2005, 4 to 2. Proof that making the playoffs is no guarantee of success.

The “core four” of John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander proved they’re not capable of taking top honors. They have failed in each of the seven final games in which they have competed together. With the imminent departure of Marner and possibly Tavares, and now Brendan Shanahan as president, we can sense big changes afoot in Toronto.

You have to go back to 2004 to recall the Maple Leafs’ last victory in a Game 7, when they beat the Ottawa Senators in a similar situation that year, in the opening round of the playoffs. that was more than 20 years ago, when the first Shrek movie was released and the PlayStation 2 was the most popular console on the market. it’s been a long time!