State of the Toronto Maple Leafs

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Nowhere is that more true in the game of hockey, when a team has long gone without winning a Stanley Cup, let alone making the playoffs. In the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs, not since 1967 did they ever win the Stanley Cup, let alone make an appearance in the Finals. Not since 2004 had they been in a playoff series. However this year, behind a great nucleus of raw talent and perennial All-Stars in Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel, the Leafs overcame a slow start and got back to the playoffs. Unfortunately, it was bound to end sooner or later. It’s not a question of why it ended, it’s more a question of how it ended and how something so right, could go so wrong.

Leading 4-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series with the Boston Bruins, the Leaf fans were ecstatic and sure to celebrating the Leafs first playoff series win since 2004. The Bruins had other ideas though, as they scored 3 goals in a span of 2 minutes to tie the game and force overtime. Minutes into overtime, Patrice Bergeron did the unthinkable and ended the Leafs season.

I feel the Leafs are a team that is inconsolable after suffering a loss that was nearly inconceivable with 2:00 left in the game. I feel that they’re grateful to be considered a playoff contender, but they still have a lot of growing and learning they need to do. They’ll look back on this season as one they can build on, but one they never expected would come to a disappointing and heartbreaking end the way it did.