It hasn’t been the smoothest ride, but the Maple Leafs are once again all but a formality for the NHL postseason. Though they have not yet clinched, they should within the week as it is extremely unlikely they get caught by any fringe teams.
Also as with prior seasons, the Maple Leafs will have their work cut out for them come postseason time. However, they will worry about that when the time comes. In the meantime, Toronto has seven games remaining in their regular season. To add a layer of adversity, those seven games are a bit of a gauntlet.
Often, it is the team(s) that enter the postseason in their hottest form that tends to make a run. That may come difficult for the Maple Leafs. Here is a look at their remaining schedule in the NHL’s 2023-24 season.
Saturday, April 5: at Montreal Canadiens
This should be the least challenging opponent the Leafs face down the stretch. Toronto has won both head-to-head matchups this season and would certainly enjoy a season sweep.
Monday, April 8: vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Here begins the closing gauntlet. The Penguins are rolling, have clawed themselves back into postseason contention, and will be giving the Leafs their absolute best, hardest, most urgent effort.
Tuesday, April 9: at New Jersey Devils
The Devils have played themselves out of playoff contention for the season. But they would love nothing more than to throw some haymakers on the way out. This will not be an easy game for Toronto.
Thursday, April 11: vs New Jersey Devils
Another quick turnaround as this is three travel games in as many days. Seeing the same team in consecutive games can often lead to bad blood spilling over from game to game. Toronto just needs to escape these back-to-backs with at least 2 points and no injuries.
Saturday, April 13: vs Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are another team battling for a playoff spot. They, too, will give the Leafs their all-out, best effort to collect a massively important 2 points. By the way, these teams do not like each other.
Tuesday, April 16: at Florida Panthers
Not much needs to be said about this one. The Panthers are a top NHL team for a reason. Unless both teams remove any urgency or physicality from the game in the spirit of staying healthy for the playoffs, this will be a battle.
Wednesday, April 17: at Tampa Bay Lightning
There is no love loss between the Leafs and Lightning, either. In this finale between a couple of playoff-bound teams, look for both the Leafs and Lightning to set the tone for the postseason to come.
In a nutshell
The final couple weeks of the regular season could be turbulent for the Maple Leafs and make it difficult for them to enter the playoffs on a hot streak. However, if they get through this stretch without injury despite physical games and can go at least .500, then it is a good sign that they are prepared for any opponent they would face in the first round.
Toronto Maple Leafs Futures Odds
At this point in the season, the Maple Leafs are in a bit of an odd spot as it pertains to futures for the regular season. They do not have much of a chance to win their division, conference or Presidents’ Trophy. There is also not much question whether or not they will make the playoffs. All that is to say that there is not much value for the Leafs’ remaining regular season futures. Here are the odds that the primary playoff futures odds carry with the Leafs:
MAPLE LEAFS TO BE EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS: +700
Currently, the Eastern Conference is favored to win the Stanley Cup over the Western Conference. The delta is not large, but a quick glance at the likely playoff picture shows why.
For the Maple Leafs to win the Eastern Conference, they will have had to get through some combination of last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, this season’s potential Presidents’ Trophy winner, last season’s Eastern Conference champion or a multi-Stanley Cup champion team.
The good news for the Leafs is they have arguably the best top-end talent in the Eastern Conference. That alone gives this +700 nice value. It is no secret that for years now, the Leafs have the superstars to be able to get over the hump. It has not happened yet, but that does not mean it will not happen.
An extra-scorned Sheldon Keefe, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Morgan Reilly and more could mean a bully-type run to the Stanley Cup Final. There is no reason this version of the Leafs cannot make that happen.
MAPLE LEAFS TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP: +1400
Much of what was outlined above is applicable to the Stanley Cup Final. The Leafs would have a heck of time against the Oilers, Avalanche or Stars, as well as any team that would have conquered those Western Conference juggernauts to reach this point.
However, If the Leafs come out of their conference, then they could absolutely handle whoever comes out of the West. Odds of +1400 for a team this talented to finally get over the hump and be the last team standing looks to have some value.
Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction
Once the playoff picture is set in stone, there is absolutely appeal to take the Leafs to win a series, potentially two. Beyond the first round, it gets difficult to see a deep run. Déjà vu from last year is very much on the table. Looking around the Eastern Conference, it’s difficult to be too optimistic for Toronto.
Carolina is a very deep, complete team with fantastic coaching. The Rangers have been stellar all season and have potentially the best goalie in the NHL in Igor Shesterkin. The Bruins have bullied the NHL for two consecutive seasons. The Panthers have been fantastic and have largely the same team that less than a year ago was two wins from hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs still look to be a rung down from those elite teams. The official prediction is a second consecutive second-round postseason exit.
