One major sports outlet seems to be writing the Leafs off already
Listen, we know the Leafs are going to be in tough in round 1. They haven't been past the first round since 2004 and they've got a horrific first round matchup against the 2 time defending Cup champs. The Leafs having their best season in franchise history hasn't been enough to convince the masses that they are for real. For better or for worse, this entire season will be judged on what happens over the next few weeks.
Many fans are writing the Leafs off. They lost in embarrassing fashion to the Montreal Canadiens in the year's playoffs. The Lightning are a far better team than the Habs and while the Leafs seem like a more playoff ready group this season, they're still the underdogs going in.
Anyone who grew up watching Coaches' Corner or the Rock Em Sock Em series will remember what was probably the mopst accurate thing Don Cherry ever said. Anything can happen in the playoffs. What if Vasilevskiy gets injured? What if Matthews scores like he did in the regular season? What if the Leafs simply outwork and outplay the Lightning? You simply can't write a team off until the games have been played. Well, maybe.
Apparently, The Score believes otherwise. Either that or a technical glitch with their widget app caused them to send out a message indicating that the off season had begun for the Leafs and that they would be back soon. This is even funnier considering TheScore Bet app has the Leafs as the slight favourites to win their Atlantic division semifinal series.
