SIMMONS: Beyond the Panthers and Oilers, who's better than the Toronto Maple Leafs?
A question to ask now that the noise has quieted, the president has lost his job and free agency of Mitch Marner and John Tavares remains but a month away: Which teams right now that are better than the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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You can start with the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers and then move to the Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.
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But after that, who? The Carolina Hurricanes? No. The Washington Capitals? No. The Tampa Bay Lightning? No. The New Jersey Devils? No. The Ottawa Senators? No. The Montreal Canadiens? No.
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You move to the Western Conference and you can't feel good about how the Dallas Stars played against the Oilers. You can't feel good about the President's Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets or the ease with which Vegas lost to Edmonton in the second round of the playoffs.
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St. Louis proved to be a tough out and they were. But the Kings of Los Angeles imploded as their best two players head into their 18th and 20th seasons.
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With Marner and Tavares or without the duo — and assuming the replacements put in place by general manager Brad Treliving will be reasonable and not necessarily equal — where exactly are the Leafs heading into the draft, free agency, and what will certainly be a busy off-season?
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What hurt wasn't that the Leafs lost in seven games to the defending champioin Panthers. Tampa and Carolina lasted just five games apiece against Florida. There's no certainty Edmonton will take them to seven games again — although I'm picking the Oilers to win.
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What hurt was how the Leafs lost. How they lost themselves in Games 5 and 7 at home. How they didn't compete in any meaningful way. How they seemed incapable of matching the intensity of the Panthers.
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Even as Carolina went down in five games, they fought right to the end. They weren't trampled on. They weren't embarrassed. But still, they lost in 5. Two games fewer than the Maple Leafs managed to last.
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Perspective doesn't come easily when a season ends so drastically. Perspective comes from stepping away, gauging the accomplishments, gauging the history of the franchise and trying to take stock of who the Leafs are and where they might be heading.
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Roger Neilson coached some impressive Toronto teams in the 1970s, led by Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald up front, with Tiger Williams fighting everyone, with Borje Salming and Ian Turnbull on defence and Mike Palmateer in goal. The most points they had in a season was 92 in 1978.
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