Strong evidence that a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals may be close for the Leafs

Every year, the Maple Leafs come into the season with so much hype, and every year, they find themselves in a race for one of the top 2 or 3 spots in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs.

Regular season success has not been hard to come by for the Leafs, but for some reason, when the playoffs begin, the other teams in the Atlantic Division just seem to have their number. Fans are growing frustrated, but if the numbers tell us anything, it's that a run to the Finals could be closer than anyone expects.

Stephen Burtch, who prides himself on his affinity for analytics, has pointed out that the Maple Leafs are a top-4 team in the entire NHL over the last 7 seasons when it comes to points percentage. Burtch also highlighted the fact that the Atlantic Division is essentially killer's row, and that all of the teams on this list have been featured in a Stanley Cup Finals or have won the Cup in recent years, except for the Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes.

There's no denying the fact that the Atlantic Division is basically killer's row, each and every season. The last 3 teams to have knocked the Leafs off in the postseason have been Tampa, Florida and Boston and 2 of those 3 teams have Stanley Cup rings in recent years. However, we should not be discouraged.

As long as the Leafs continue to fight their way into a playoff position, near the top of the Atlantic Division, they're going to have a chance to go on a run. 7 years is not a small sample size, so when we see other teams turn regular season success into playoff success, it should give us hope that the Leafs are close, despite the narratives out there that suggest they're not a true contender.

Source: NHL.com
NHL regular season statistics