The Leafs are Cup-worthy
Yes, I mean the Stanley Cup. Why do you ask?
Oh right, because it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs. They haven’t played for the Cup since winning it for the final time in 1967, a drought of 56 seasons. They haven’t made the conference finals since 2002. There’s a reason the Stanley Cup is safe inside the Hockey Hall of Fame: There’s no chance of anyone in Toronto ever lifting it.
Every Maple Leafs postseason team drags a half-century of dashed expectations and self-inflicted despair like an anchor. Their most arduous opponent continues to be themselves, when they allow seeds of doubt to blossom into a funeral arrangement for their Stanley Cup aspirations.
So what do we make of a Toronto team that doesn’t allow those seeds to take root? Because this one hasn’t. This one has five wins in seven games over two rounds. This one has members of the Core Five — the Core Four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares, plus Matthew Knies, as ESPN’s P.K. Subban christened them — making clutch plays in big spots. More than anything, this one has the psychological stylings of Craig Berube, and now has proof of concept.
Originally Written by: Greg Wyshynski
