Maple Leafs, Core 4 Era Ends and Playoff Failure
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Yardbarker on MSN2d
It may be the end of Leafs’ Core Four era after incremental progress burned in home blowoutsYou could certainly buy the idea that the Toronto Maple Leafs made some necessary, incremental gains this season. That was until two consecutive home blowouts at the hands of the defending champion Florida Panthers illustrated how far this team is truly away from reaching their goal of lifting the Stanley Cup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had another early playoff exit and could make a drastic change, according to one insider.
And it likely means the band is breaking up to a degree.
The Toronto Maple Leafs flamed out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again and one insider insists this core must be broken up.
The Maple Leafs fell 6-1 to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their second-round series, marking their seventh consecutive Game 7 loss and extending the franchise’s Eastern Conference Final drought to 23 years. Toronto’s Core Four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares combined for zero points in the Game 7 loss.
Let's look at the facts. Since 2018, the Maple Leafs' longest tenured players — Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Morgan Rielly — have fallen completely flat in their career in Game 7, scoring three goals between them in six games.
In the end, we spent so much time talking about “Are the Maple Leafs different?” that it’s a relief to know that, at long last, they will be.
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