Early on, the Toronto Maple Leafs looked unstoppable. In the end, though, 2020-21 can be described using old, familiar words–the team fell short of expectations.
Despite finishing on top in the North Division and ending the season winning seven of its last ten games, Montreal eliminated Toronto in the first round, beating the home-standing Maple Leafs in Game 7.
What happened? The answer is probably not what you would expect to read.
The Maple Leafs have a strong, core group of players, built around this season’s top goal-scorer, Auston Matthews. They are getting strong defense, too, from Morgan Rielly, newcomer TJ Brodie, and veteran Jake Muzzin. What’s more, Toronto has a dependable goalie tandem, featuring Frederik Andersen and Jack Campbell. Finally, there are beloved veterans Jason Spezza and Joe Thornton.
Even a midseason hiccup didn’t spell doom. An injury to Andersen thrust Campbell into the starting goalie role, and Campbell rose to the occasion, helping the Leafs shed a brief losing skid. With Andersen sidelined, goaltender David Rittich was acquired from the Calgary Flames to back up Campbell.
The team even got stronger as the season progressed. At the trade deadline, GM Kyle Dubas traded for Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno.
Sounds all good, right? The Maple Leafs finished the regular season with a record of 35-14-7–the team’s best conference finish (#7) since the Leafs ended 5th in 2003-04. But (there’s that scary word) Toronto’s season win-total has declined successively each year since 2017-18.
No stranger to first-round losses, that outcome happened again for the Leafs just a few weeks ago. The underdog Canadiens (24-21-11) ended their season this time. Expected to win easily (the Maple Leafs were pre-series picks +330), Toronto wasn’t able to close out games and that gave Montreal an opportunity to rally back. The Habs finished the job in Game 7, winning 3-1 in Toronto.
Maple Leafs’ fans were stunned as an all-too-familiar feeling of disappointment sank in.
The Maple Leafs will no doubt address team issues in the off-season. They might make a trade or two, hoping to shake things up. With the team short on cap space, expect to see roster changes.
Expectations will be high again in Toronto next year. They always are. The big question is whether the team can change another narrative … coming up short.
