A proud franchise blotted by a long list of playoff failures — and without a Stanley Cup since 1967 — recent Maple Leafs iterations have crumbled under the weight of expectation in this hockey-obsessed market.
O'Reilly, a Stanley Cup champion acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a February blockbuster trade, was part of a team that finally got over its championship hump in 2019.
Tampa then came back from a 3-2 deficit to win Games 6 and 7 in 2022. Toronto also lost to the Washington Capitals in the first round in 2017 and Boston in 2018.O'Reilly has watched the Leafs tortured talent navigate their reality ahead of the curtain being raised on Toronto's latest playoff foray."It's the mecca of hockey and there's that pressure on them," said the veteran forward, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as post-season MVP in 2019.
Snagged ahead of last season's trade deadline from the Seattle Kraken, Giordano also got the sense Toronto's core is truly sick of talking about all that's previously gone wrong. That slow march allowed head coach Sheldon Keefe to tinker with his forward lines and defence pairs, and give players rest and recovery time when needed.
Tampa has played a lot of hockey since 2020, but still has plenty of its title-winning pieces in place with Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and 51-goal man Brayden Point up front.
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