It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently mired in a lengthy postseason victory drought that hasn't seen them advance past the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs since prior to the invention of YouTube. To be exact, it was just over 18 years ago that Toronto last celebrated a series win, a 4-1 triumph over the Ottawa Senators at the then-named Air Canada Center.
Right now, the Leafs are enjoying another top notch regular season, currently in second place in the Atlantic Division behind only that of the NHL-leading Boston Bruins. And with the NHL Trade Deadline coming up, there has been plenty of speculation as to whether general manager Kyle Dubas is going to be looking to add to his roster in an attempt to finally get over the hump.
On a recent episode of Spittin’ Chiclets, former Stanley Cup winning head coach Ken Hitchcock, who ironically was the last NHL head coach that the Leafs faced beyond the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, had this to say
"The Leafs have at least two-thirds of their lineup that play right through you. That is what checking is. You have to play right through you," Hitchcock said. "All of a sudden, players where people said, 'this guy is too soft, that guy is too soft, and you’ll never win with these guys,' they go right through you. That is a real accolade for that coaching staff to be able to pull it off with the same personnel. They did it."
"Now they have something that they know is going to be a tough out in the playoffs."
Needless to say, this is a critical year for the brain trust of the Maple Leafs. If they suffer yet another first round exit, there will almost certainly be major changes to the front office.
Is Hitchcock correct that this year's edition of the Leafs will be a tougher matchup for whomever they face in Round One?
