After being bounced in the first round by the Boston Bruins, members of the Leafs have been seen out enjoying the off-season on patios with friends and family and decompressing from a long season. In Tampa however, it is quite the opposite as Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov have already been back skating together since their playoff run ended according to newly re-acquired Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
Hockey Illuminati's Frank Crupi took to social media this week to point out the obvious, which is that the Leafs players should be more focused on improving their game over the summer and less focused on traveling and leisure time, given the fact that they haven't won anything while the stakes remain so high.
Of course, the images of Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly do not mean they are not training and working out already, but for a market with as much media coverage as Toronto, one would think there would be some news of players already skating or training again. Additionally, with last weekend being a long weekend in Canada, it's fairly safe to say that everyone in Canada was doing the same thing and you can bet that the Lightning players will be for their upcoming long weekend.
This isn't meant to say that players can't have social lives or take some time away from the game. It is to point out the difference of mentality between a Stanley Cup Champion and perennial contender and a 'pretender'. Both teams were bounced from the playoffs in the first round and Lightning players are already back on the ice together while there has been no news of Leafs back on the ice as of yet.
