Two past Stanley Cup Champions lead by example for the Leafs on the eve of Game 1
At the end of their scheduled practice, and on the eve of the first game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, two Leafs players remained on the ice as the rest of the team went off into the locker room. Usually the players that stay on the ice are extras or healthy scratches, but in this instance it's two veteran Stanley Cup Champions in Luke Schenn and Ryan O'Reilly.
There is an obvious but immense amount of pressure surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, but nothing that they aren't used to. In this, their 7th consecutive season striving for life past round 1, there's no shortage of worry. After all, the Buds lost to this very same Lightning team last year in another heartbreaking Game 7.
However, that was then and this is now. The Leafs can't change the past. They can only focus on what's ahead. Now they seem better equipped with the reinforcements they acquired ahead of the trade deadline. Two key acquisitions in particular who are going to play a huge role, both on and off the ice, are O'Reilly and Schenn.
O'Reilly as we already know captained the St. Louis Blues to their only Stanley Cup in franchise history and won the Conn Smythe Trophy, as the playoff MVP to boot. He has played in 64 playoff games over 6 years, has 22 goals and 56 points, including 49 points in 51 games with the Blues - who got out of the first round in 3 of their 4 seasons.
Schenn on the other hand was with the Lightning when they won both of their cups in 2019-20 and 2020-21. He didn't play in all their games but he still managed to suit up in 19 games for a loaded Tampa Bay team that still required his defensive acumen, leadership, and grit to win in consecutive years. He has 31 playoff games under his belt across 4 years, including 7 with the Philadelphia Flyers and another 5 with the Los Angeles Kings in 2013-14 and 2015-16, respectively.
After all these guys have been through in their careers, to be the last two guys on the ice for the Leafs on the eve of Game 1 against Tampa, it speaks to their level of commitment to winning. That stuff is contagious. It's being felt by every single guy in that room right now. These are two guys who both swam in very deep waters and you had better believe they're teaching these Leafs to swim as we speak by leading through example.
