Jonas Siegel

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jonas Siegel

TORONTO - Players ambled in and out of the dressing room at the Maple Leafs practice facility on Tuesday, packing up sticks and equipment on the unofficial last day of the 2024-25 season. For Mitch Marner, it might have been for the last time as a Leaf. Marner didn't make any declarations about his future two days after the Leafs' season came to an end once again in Game 7, but he continued to signal what's been increasingly obvious: his Leafs career very well might be over.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jonas Siegel

That was bad. What went so wrong for the Maple Leafs again this spring? Let's break down the biggest problems. Stars failThe way the Leafs are built, the stars have to rule. And rule they did not when the Leafs needed them most against the Panthers. This is a familiar story. Auston Matthews only scored one goal against Florida. He shot 1-for-26 (3.9 percent) in the series, beating Sergei Bobrovsky just that one time - a big goal for certain - in a season-saving Game 6 victory.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jonas Siegel

This has to be it: the end of the Shanaplan, the end of the Core Four Toronto Maple Leafs. There's no running it back. Not after this. Not after maybe the most embarrassing loss of this era, which came four nights after the other most embarrassing loss of this era. Not after letting a 2-0 series lead melt away with four losses in five games. Not after the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares failed again when it mattered. Not after seven tries with that core.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Joshua Kloke |Jonas Siegel

TORONTO - For the sixth time in the eight seasons, the Maple Leafs will play a Game 7. And this time, they're hoping for a different result to keep their season alive and possibly change the narrative around this core once and for all. The Leafs have a 0-5 record in Game 7s since 2018, with three losses against the Boston Bruins and one loss each against the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. They also lost a deciding Game 5 to Columbus in 2020.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jonas Siegel

SUNRISE, Fla. - Maybe it was always destined to be this way. To finally get past their playoff demons, once and for all, the Toronto Maple Leafs would have to win a Game 7 - their sixth try in this particular era. They earned that chance on Friday night. "This was similar to a Game 7 tonight," head coach Craig Berube said after a 2-0 Game 6 victory. "We had to win."Getting there took the game they needed from Auston Matthews, the goal they needed above all.