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It was too little and too late for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second-round matchup against the Florida Panthers. The club dug themselves a hole the size of the Niagara Gorge falling behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and only when desperation set in did they put together a pair of solid efforts in a 2-1 victory in Game 4 and the 3-2 series-clinching overtime loss to the Panthers in Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
“You can’t take anything away from Florida. They played an incredible series. They did a great job. But we were in positions to win in Game 1, Game 2, and Game 3. We didn’t handle that well.” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “We believe we had a team good enough to win the Stanley Cup. We didn’t do that. But there are eight teams left playing here, and all eight go into it with the belief that they can win the Stanley Cup. Seven of them are going to be disappointed. We are one of those teams that is disappointed.”
The game was a microcosm of the series, as Leafs fell behind 2-0 on goals by Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe in the first. Morgan Rielly scored from long range in the second and appeared to have tied the game late in the period, but the goal was waved off as it was determined that the puck did not cross the goal line until after the whistle had blown.
Toronto pressed the attack and fired 14 shots in the third on Sergei Bobrovsky, finally evening the contest on William Nylander’s goal with 4:27 left in the third, but Florida put away the Leafs in overtime on a Nick Cousins screen shot past Joseph Woll.
It will take a while to unpack the results of the series and even longer to see what the ramifications will be, but Hart Trophy finalist Matthew Tkachuk provided an accurate indictment of the Leafs, which has been true for the last five seasons with the current core group.
"There's a lot of individual skill over there, some unbelievable talent. I just think the way we're able to play as a team with physicality was the difference." Tkachuk said. 'You could see there's a little bit of them wearing down at the end and I just think our team is built for this moment against them. We definitely don't have as much skill as them. I don't think there's many teams that do, but come playoff time. It's not about that. It's about sticking together. It's about coming through in those moments. It's about timely stuff."
In the five games against Florida, the Leafs top two centers in Auston Matthews and John Tavares had no goals and were outplayed by Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett. Mitch Marner had one goal in the series after leading Toronto in scoring in the first round, but more than that, the style of play had one the best two-way wingers in the league appear frustrated, out-of-sorts, and at times clueless.
William Nylander led the “core four” with a pair of goals, but his lack of physical play and defensive deficiencies were present throughout the postseason.
To a man, the Leafs players after the game expressed belief in the group and a desire for them to stay together, but also a resignation that is unlikely to happen.
The first question to be directed at Team President Brendan Shanahan early next week will be on the status of Kyle Dubas. Most observers believe that the person least responsible in the Leafs holy trinity is their GM. While it took him a while to recognize the shortcomings of the current group, he addressed them more than adequately with the late-season acquisitions of Luke Schenn, Noel Acciari, and Ryan O’Reilly.
The MLSE board will likely be meeting at some point before the end of the month to determine whether Dubas will be offered an extension and then it is up to him whether to accept. Only Pittsburgh and Calgary have GM openings, and both situations outwardly appear less desirable than Toronto, but a lot of important decisions have to be made before the draft in late June and free agency on July 1, which likely means that a decision on Dubas will happen quickly.
Sheldon Keefe has one year remaining on his contract, and it would appear that his fate is tied to the GM. If Dubas is not extended, then it is likely a clean sweep, but if it is status quo you could see a similar situation play out as occurred with Dubas last fall, with Keefe going in the final year of his deal and his feet being held to the fire.
As for the roster, either scenario of returning management or new management will result in significant changes. Not change for change's sake, but change forced not only by the realities of the salary cap but by the fact that the group has proven to have significant fatal flaws.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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