One other 12 months filled with promise ending in devastation: such is the legacy of the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Sunday night the Leafs laid their last egg of the 2024-25 season in entrance of a bought out Toronto crowd as they fell 6-1 to the Florida Panthers, ending their season within the second spherical of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Crashing out could be par for the course for the Maple Leafs, however traditionally no person in skilled sports activities has mastered shedding within the playoffs fairly just like the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sunday evening marked the ninth season in a row the group has made the playoffs, solely to be eradicated within the first or second spherical. It’s additionally now been a staggering 23 years because the group made it to convention finals.
If that sounds dangerous, I promise you it’s about to get a lot, a lot worse.
Once we have a look at the key skilled sports activities in North America, the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and NHL listed here are the groups who’ve made the playoffs probably the most instances within the final 50 years with out truly successful a championship.
- NFL: Minnesota Vikings — 26 playoff berths, 6 convention championship berths, 1 Tremendous Bowl berths, 0 championships
- NBA: Atlanta Hawks — 31 playoff berths, 2 convention championship berths, 0 NBA Finals berths, 0 championships
- MLB: Milwaukee Brewers — 10 playoff berths, 2 league convention championship berths, 1 World Collection berth, 0 championships
- WNBA: Connecticut Solar — 17 playoff berths, 11 convention championship berths, 2 WNBA Finals berths, 0 championships
- NHL: Toronto Maple Leafs — 32 playoff berths, 6 convention championship berths, 0 Stanley Cup Finals berths, 0 championships
One might make an argument for the Vikings being the saddest group in professional sports activities, positive — however at the very least they made it to the Tremendous Bowl 4 instances solely to have their hopes dashed. Additionally soccer being a single-game elimination format means anybody can have a foul day and get bounced, whereas having best-of-seven sequence really provides a superb group a possibility to combat by way of.
And but, the Leafs simply carry on failing.
Of their 36 playoff appearances since 1968 the Leafs have solely made it previous the primary or second spherical six instances. Which means you might be a 57-year-old Toronto fan, and through your complete life span the group has made the playoffs 63% of seasons, however solely given you a sense you would possibly win all of it 16% of the time.
Not solely this, however throughout that very same span the Leafs have completed 1st or 2nd within the Japanese Convention on the finish of the common season 10 instances. On 10 separate events they have been the most effective groups in hockey solely to let all the things slip by way of their fingers. Within the first 50 years of their existence the Leafs gained 12 Stanley Cup Championships, they have been an everyday lock for the Cup Finals, and within the final 50 years it’s been a wasteland.
Whenever you issue within the weight of significance hockey has in Toronto, the legacy of brilliance the Leafs had from 1917-to-1967, and the expectation this group has each single time they step on the ice then it’s clear: No person in sports activities is as gifted at shedding than the Maple Leafs.
Sorry.