The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the cusp of standing alone with the longest active NHL playoff streak.
Toronto can clinch a playoff spot for the ninth straight season on Wednesday night, while it’s a matter of time before the Eastern Conference’s last place team, the Boston Bruins, are eliminated from contention. Both clubs are currently tied for the longest streak at eight seasons.
In the most important sense, the Leafs’ streak of playoff appearances doesn’t mean much besides the fact that the pressure to win at least a couple of rounds is higher than ever. They’ve only won one playoff round in eight seasons.
Not only that, but since 2016-17, the Leafs have the 15th-most playoff wins and the 15th-most playoff games played. This is a stark reminder of how many chances the Buds have blown.
Toronto’s active playoff streak is an emotional double-edged sword for Leafs fans. Most of them remember the lean years, when the Buds didn’t make the playoffs in 10 of 11 seasons beginning in 2005-06. So, having playoff games for what will be nine straight years now is far preferable to the alternative of no playoff games.
However, if the Maple Leafs do get eliminated in the first or second round of this year’s post-season – or even if they win two playoff series and then get unceremoniously swept in the Eastern final – there will be no moral victories.
There won’t be any more excuses that will satisfy Leafs fans if they don’t excel in the playoffs under all that pressure. There will be no more press conferences where Leafs brass talks about patience and the learning process. Those days are long over.
The only thing Leafs fans will want is turnover. If that means saying goodbye to pending Leafs UFAs Mitch Marner and John Tavares, Leafs fans may say, “so be it.” This should be the team’s last chance at running it back with the same core in hopes that things eventually improve because they already changed the coach, and they changed the GM two years ago.
It’s no wonder that the stakes are sky-high for the Buds this spring. They may win the highly competitive Atlantic Division, but imagine the fallout if they follow up with a first-round loss to the Ottawa Senators or Montreal Canadiens. Or imagine the blowback if the Leafs get out of Round 1, only to be demolished by the defending Cup-champion Florida Panthers or Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2. The mushroom cloud of anger and frustration that could envelop the franchise will return bigger than usual.
So, while it will be a slight moral victory if the Leafs extend the longest active playoff streak and win the division for the first 82-game season since the 1999-2000 campaign, it won’t matter one iota if Toronto doesn’t reward its customers with a serious playoff run.
They’ve shown encouraging signs of grinding out wins and playing playoff-style hockey this season, so it’s about time they take advantage of it in the post-season. Otherwise, all these years of getting into the playoffs will amount to a Blue-And-White hill of beans.
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