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Florida destroying Carolina and suddenly the Toronto Maple Leafs don't look so bad after all

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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May 23 2025, 6:17 pm
Florida destroying Carolina and suddenly the Toronto Maple Leafs don't look so bad after all
John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers isn’t looking nearly as bad as many made it out to be.

The Leafs fell short in the playoffs once again, as they were ousted by the Panthers, meaning they once again failed to make it past the second round with their current core group. While it’s being viewed as a complete failure, the ongoing series between the Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes is proving just how good of a team the Leafs are.

The Panthers have absolutely dominated the Hurricanes through the first two games, outscoring them 10-2 thus far, including a 5-0 throttling on Thursday night. They also generated just 17 shots on goal.

To this point, the Canes are putting up far less of a fight than the Leafs did.

Though Hurricanes fans didn’t resort to throwing jerseys on the ice as we saw from some Leafs fans after Games 5 and 7, they were clearly frustrated in their own right. Not only did they boo their team off the ice at the end of the second period, but there were plenty of ‘SHOOT’ chants as they were increasingly irritated at the lack of scoring chances the Hurricanes were generating.

“We’re not doing the things that we do as a team that normally helps us. I didn’t know what I was watching in the first period,” said a seemingly befuddled Rod Brind’Amour after Thursday’s loss. “That didn’t go well. The margin here is tight. We’re not going to beat this team if we’re not on the same page.”

These comments from the head coach of a team that has had a ton of success in recent years show just how difficult a matchup the Panthers are.

Not only were the Leafs able to get out to a 2-0 series lead versus the Panthers, but they also found themselves up 3-1 at one point in Game 3. They ultimately wound up losing the series in seven games, and despite ugly showings in Game 5 and Game 7, proved that they were right there with the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

Despite it being viewed as another Maple Leafs choke job, perhaps it was nothing more than them running into a team that is as dominant as we have seen in recent memory. This Panthers team, after all, is just two wins shy of advancing to their third straight Stanley Cup Final.

In a different year, this may have given Maple Leafs fans a great deal of hope moving forward, but this team simply had no margin for error this season. They have not only fired longtime president Brendan Shanahan following this year’s exitĀ but are also expected toĀ part ways with Mitch Marner this offseason. Had they come out with a better effort in Game 7 on Sunday, things could have beenĀ a lot different.

Given how dominant the Panthers have looked these past two games, it’s fair to suggest that the Leafs would be experiencing similar success against the ‘Canes, who have now lost 14 straight games in the Eastern Conference Final.

It’s a whole lot of what-ifs, but Maple Leafs fans, and perhaps the team in general, may be feeling some vindication despite many claiming the season to be an outright failure.

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