The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in the NHL for 106 years, I will not go back that far to talk about the playoff successes or the woes. I really want to stick to the woes and see if this is “our year.” If you know any Leafs fans you might know this saying has been common practice in conversations over the past two decades, mind you its been much longer than that since a Stanley Cup has been hoisted in Toronto.
The last Stanley Cup Championship team was 1967. Maple Leaf fans also have a good sense of humor, we always say, geez the last time our boys were in the finals it was televised in black & white.
In those 16 years, Toronto made the playoffs 76 times, with 13 championships.
Past 10 Seasons (2015 – 2024)
| 53.2% | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Winning Percentage | Made Playoffs | Playoff Series Wins | Championships |
I am going to take a look a little further back just at the woes and troubled seasons briefly. I went back 10 more years, so this look at the playoffs or should I really say lack of playoffs here. Lets take a peak.
| 2013 | 26-17-5 | Lost First Round (Won 0 Rounds) |
| 2012 | 35-37-10 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2011 | 37-34-11 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2010 | 30-38-14 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2009 | 34-35-13 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2008 | 36-35-11 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2007 | 40-31-11 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2006 | 41-33-8 | Missed Playoffs |
| 2004 | 45-24-10-3 | Lost Conference Semi-Finals (Won 1 Round) |
Do I believe this is the year the Toronto Maple Leafs do accomplish what many hockey fans think is is still a dream, YES I DO… Here’s why: there are a few reasons. First off the Leafs have Auston Matthews who is 6th in the league overall in scoring with 107 points, but leads the way with 69 goals (We also just did an article on why Austin should go for 70 goals here). Matthews’ line was along side William Nylander and John Tavares and or Mitchell Marner.
Coach Sheldon Keefe has mixed things up as of late and put Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi with Matthews, it seems no matter who Matthews’ line-mates are he just keeps scoring, this new pairing shows me, he can only make Domi and Bertuzzi better going forward as well.
Toronto has been playing well of late. Goaltending was an issue early on, Joseph Woll the up and comer was going be the goalie of the future but got injured early on. Woll has a 12-10 record with a 2.88 goals against average (GAA) and a .907 SV %.
The Leafs found Martin Jones in the wake of Woll’s injury and Jones played well for a while, Jones record is 11-7 in his starts with a respectable 2.70 GAA with a .908 SV%.
We come to Ilya Samsonov. Samsonov, 26 years old finished 27-10-5 with four shutouts, a 2.33 GAA and a .919 SV % in his first season with the Maple Leafs in 2023.
2024 had it ups and downs for Samsonov at one point he was struggling with anxiety and mental health issues, he was quoted after practice in Nashville one day and said:
“If I said I feel great, it’s not the truth. I feel shit,” the goaltender said candidly, still sweating from the team’s sake. “But it’s a piece of my life. I’m a guy who’s going to be fighting through this. I will (be) fighting every day.”
Ilya Samsonov for the season is 23-7 with 3 shutouts, and he holds a 3.13 GAA
Samsonov has been good or at least adequate over the last month with 5 wins a 3.34 GAA and a a shutout over that time. Fans hear of goalie tandems which usually means a duo. The Leafs have a trio of goalies, not all NHL teams have 3 goalies on their active rosters. I actually like the Leafs chances at winning a Stanley Cup because they have Joseph Woll.
There have been teams who have won a Stanley Cup by playing 2 or 3 goalies in the past, so if one fails the other can jump in. I think that’s huge for this team’s chances of survival and inevitably winning it all.
Toronto isn’t exactly the Stanley Cup favorites, the Leafs are a good team, but are not favorites. The New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers should all be expected to do better than the Leafs.
Lets say that Toronto does win the Eastern Conference, they would either play the likes of Colorado, Dallas, Vegas Knights or Edmonton, and you can’t even count out Vancouver who had amazing and unexpected season this year…
BUT… Toronto is 2nd in scoring with a team total of 297 goals, only team higher is Colorado with 299.
There are four Canadian teams in the playoffs this year, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and the Vancouver Canucks. The last time a Canadian team won a Stanley Cup was 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens beat the LA Kings. 1993 seems like a lifetime ago, and it is, but is nothing compared to the 57 year drought of the Toronto Maple Leafs…
Will the Maple Leafs finally bring Lord Stanley home to Toronto and Canada where it belongs? It is definitely gonna be a battle but with the fire power Maple Leafs have with their top two lines, it definitely is possible. I know i will be over the moon excited and can’t wait to see it happen. GO LEAFS GO !!! “THIS IS OUR YEAR” *wink wink*
Let me know what you think in the comments below or as always hit me up on ‘X’ @HENDO19750 or message me on Facebook messenger, I’ll be glad to hear from you.
By : Rob Henderson
Photo Credit; CP24,
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