One other yr stuffed with promise ending in devastation: such is the legacy of the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Sunday night the Leafs laid their remaining 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 one 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 for the reason that group made it to convention finals.
If that sounds unhealthy, I promise you it’s about to get a lot, a lot worse.
After we take a look at the main skilled sports activities in North America, the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and NHL listed below are the groups who’ve made the playoffs essentially the most occasions within the final 50 years with out really profitable 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 Sequence 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 no less than they made it to the Tremendous Bowl 4 occasions 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 actually offers a very good group a possibility to battle by.
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 occasions. Which means you possibly can be a 57-year-old Toronto fan, and through your total 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 occasions. On 10 separate events they had been probably the greatest groups in hockey solely to let every little thing slip by their fingers. Within the first 50 years of their existence the Leafs received 12 Stanley Cup Championships, they had been a daily lock for the Cup Finals, and within the final 50 years it’s been a wasteland.
While 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 one in sports activities is as gifted at shedding than the Maple Leafs.
Sorry.
