TSN analyst claims Leafs don't have the ability to win in the playoffs
The Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004. They've come excruciatingly close every year since 2016, but they just haven't gotten over the hump. This season, they'll have their toughest first round opponent to date thanks to a stacked Atlantic division. Tampa, Florida and Boston are all fantastic teams, and a meeting with Carolina if they fall into a wild card spot won't be a walk in the park either.
Craig Button claimed on TSN that the Leafs don't have the ability to compete with Florida or Tampa come playoff time this season after the trade deadline. He believes the Leafs are a tier below those teams and that they wouldn't stand a chance in a 7-game series.
I have a few thoughts about this. The first one being, this is the guy that claimed that the Habs, with a healthy Carey Price, didn't have a chance against the Leafs last year. So if anything, Button saying the Leafs don't stand a chance is a good thing.
The Panthers look good this year. They're fast, tough, and have a strong D corps. They also haven't won a playoff series since 1996. Their starting goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky, flips between Vezina caliber and Swiss cheese at seemingly random intervals and their top defenseman is going to enter the playoffs nursing a high ankle sprain. Why do the Panthers get this pass that the Leafs don't?
This isn't to say the Panthers are bad, but to say the Leafs don't stand a chance, or aren't in the same tier as the Panthers is frankly ridiculous.
Tampa, that's a tough series. That's a juggernaut of a team coming off of consecutive Stanley Cup wins. There's a reason no team has won 3 consecutive Stanley Cups since the Islanders of the 80s though. The playoffs are hell on the body and no team has played more than Tampa in the last 3 years. They may not have the stamina to pull off another cup run.
In any case, the Leafs are within striking distance of either Florida team. If their goaltending hadn't imploded, they would more than likely be leading the Atlantic right now. The Leafs will be in tough in the first round, there's no denying that. But to say they don't have a chance, or that they're a tier below is patently false.
| POLL | ||
MARS 23 | 333 ANSWERS TSN analyst claims Leafs don't have the ability to win in the playoffs Are the Leafs a tier below the Florida teams? | ||
| Tampa yes, Panthers no | 44 | 13.2 % |
| Yes, they’re screwed | 103 | 30.9 % |
| They’re better than those teams | 35 | 10.5 % |
| It all comes down to goaltending | 151 | 45.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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