Unfortunately, the competitive windows for the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs didn't match up over the last decade. Sure, we had the 2021 playoff moment when the Canadiens rallied from 3-1 down to defeat their rival. However, that likely wouldn't have happened if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic. The return to the rivalry is quickly approaching, but when the puck drops for the 2025-26 season, the Maple Leafs might not look the same as we've known them.
There's a slight possibility that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube run it back. All signs are pointing to Mitch Marner and possibly John Tavares signing elsewhere in the offseason, but plans have been known to change. Toronto is smelling a narrative after watching the Florida Panthers dominate the Carolina Hurricanes in the first two games. "These Leafs aren't that far away from finally breaking through."
The issue is that we've been waiting for the Leafs to break through for nearly a decade, and that is the lesson that Canadiens fans must learn. Toronto's core looked so good that The Hockey News had magazine covers about planning the parade, but they never won more than seven wins in a single playoff. It's why we can talk about Montreal being a contender, but it isn't easy to win in the playoffs.
Do I believe the Canadiens' core has a bit more of a winning attitude than the Leafs'? It looks that way as we sit here now. However, we would've said that after the 2017 playoffs when they took a 2-1 series lead over the Washington Capitals and then lost in six. We believed that was the start of something special, and we were right, just for all the wrong reasons.
Toronto made the playoffs for the next eight seasons. They made it out of the first round twice, and now the core is splitting up. You can look as good as you want on paper, but it might never work out when you hit the ice. The Canadiens might prove this theory wrong and make it to the second round next year, but it took the Leafs six years to do that.
Let's be honest, some pieces of this Canadiens core have already done more than the Leafs. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki beat Toronto in 2021 as part of their struggles and went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. However, that wasn't their team then, as the main pieces were Carey Price and Shea Weber. We haven't seen them have success as the leaders, and that's the patience we must have with this team.
To make the comparison come full circle, this Canadiens team just lost in the first round against the same Capitals, and everyone is crowning them as the next team up, much like the Leafs in 2017. We'll see if the experts are right this time.