Maple Leafs trudge to yet another disappointing Game 7 loss: ‘It’s heartbreaking’

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TORONTO — Mitch Marner gathered steam with the puck in his own zone, as he had done hundreds of times before as a Maple Leaf, but quickly had to sidestep something he never had before.

One of the many Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys that had been thrown on the ice in the middle of Game 7 landed in Marner’s lane.

It was nearly the end of the third period Sunday in one of Marner’s final shifts of another embarrassing Game 7 loss. And it might be the end of nearly a decade of hope led by the most talented players in Leafs history. Marner sidestepping a jersey thrown in disgust during what could be one of his final shifts as a Leaf might end up being a lasting image of his time in Toronto — and a lasting image of just how disappointing the Leafs core has been in the playoffs.

“I’m feeling the same way,” Marner said of fan anger. “It’s sad, it’s heartbreaking.”

Those emotions echoed throughout a complete capitulation in the Leafs’ sixth straight Game 7 loss, and possibly long afterwards.

For 10 minutes or so, the Maple Leafs actually looked capable of winning Game 7.

They had weathered an early Florida Panthers storm in the first period, with the visitors throwing shot attempts from every corner of the offensive zone towards Joseph Woll. The Leafs then earned two breakaways and Woll played some of his better hockey of the season to keep the Leafs in the game.

Directly behind the Leafs bench sat Justin and Hailey Bieber, two of the most recognizable Leafs fans on the planet. While Justin Bieber had sat in private boxes at Leafs games before, his ostentatious look – a large white toque, thick orange jacket and sunglasses – was hard to miss. He appeared to throw thumbs up to the bench.

Heading into the first intermission, the Leafs had momentum and a raucous crowd behind them. The fever dream of winning a Game 7 was alive in Toronto.

But when they returned, the Leafs were met by a Panthers team that found another gear the home team simply didn’t possess. Puck after puck moved past the Leafs’ defenders with speed and relentlessness. The Leafs themselves slowed to the point of embarrassment.

Finally, the dam burst. The Panthers scored three goals in just over six minutes.

“I don’t know how it really got away from us,” Auston Matthews said. “Not on the same page in different areas of the game.”

After the second Panthers goal, head coach Craig Berube moved up and down his bench clapping his hands enthusiastically. The light at the end of the tunnel had yet to fully dim.

But after the third Panthers goal, Berube lost his cool. His face grew as deep red as the Panthers away jerseys as he screamed relentlessly at what looked to be William Nylander. Ahead of the goal, Nylander had stretched his stick but failed to move his feet multiple times with the Panthers throwing the puck around close to Woll.

THIRD STRAIGHT GOAL IN GAME 7 FOR THE PANTHERS pic.twitter.com/srnclp3PD4

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 19, 2025

Desperation set in throughout the arena.

“Jesus f—ing Christ,” someone shouted from one of the Leafs’ staff boxes.

Boos rained down – for the second home playoff game in a row – in the second period. In Game 5, the Leafs had a chance to take a series lead and lost 6-1. In Game 7, the Leafs had a chance to reach the third round for the first time in a generation … and lost 6-1. No Leafs team had ever been booed as continuously as they were in Game 7.

“For me, it’s all between the ears. It’s a mindset,” Berube said of the loss. “These guys are capable of doing it. You just have to execute it, and we didn’t execute it. We didn’t execute it in Game 5. We didn’t execute it in Game 7. I don’t have an answer for why, but that is the bottom line.”

An impassioned Marner skated by the Leafs bench, threw his helmet and screamed “Wake the f— up!”

Desperation set in from the coaching staff, too. Berube began throwing darts, hoping for any kind of spark. He tried Max Pacioretty on the top line. Minutes later, he sent another prayer skywards with Max Domi beside Matthews and Marner.

Nothing worked.

Instead of adopting an aggressive mindset and approach to stay in the game, the Leafs skated in mud. The Panthers put their foot down on the Leafs’ throat and did not let up.

Shot attempts in the second period? 39-14 Panthers. Shots? 17-5 Panthers. Series? Over.

In the second and third periods, there were more cans of beer thrown on the ice than there were goals scored by the Leafs in their past five Game 7s (five). There were more Leafs jerseys landing on the ice than Leafs who could boast about playing well when it mattered.

Jerseys have hit the ice in Toronto pic.twitter.com/vJ8mEqdxLi

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 19, 2025

“I just thought we had too many passengers throughout the rest of the game and just weren’t on the same page,” Matthews said.

It was as if the moment the Leafs realized they had to climb a mountain in the second period, they took off their hiking boots.

“Passion is a significant word amongst this fan base,” John Tavares said. “You never want to see jerseys on the ice. But we just didn’t play well enough.”

In the third period, the Biebers were nowhere to be found.

Max Domi scored a goal early in the third period to give the Leafs life. And just 47 seconds later, the Panthers took the Leafs off life support with Eetu Luostarinen’s goal.

One fan stood for around 47 seconds, with only the glass over the boards separating his aggressive, raised middle finger from the Leafs in front of him. He then pressed his middle finger against the glass itself, with a can of beer sailing over his head.

The final horn at the end of the game was sign of mercy.

As the Leafs slowly moved through the handshake line, Morgan Rielly stood motionless, staring blankly ahead.

After the Leafs left the ice, they moved without a sound from the ice into their dressing room. Leafs general manager Brad Treliving cut through a large group of assembled media, also not making a sound.

Inside the Leafs dressing room, there was nothing written on the whiteboard at the front of the room. No instructions on how to regenerate for the following day’s activities. No instructions on what time to board their flight to their next destination.

“The real frustration is there’s an Eastern Conference Final game happening in a couple of days and we’re not there,” Rielly said.

Scott Laughton was one of the last Leafs skaters to finish taking off his equipment. He bowed his head and kept it in place as he walked across the Leafs dressing room for one last time this season.

Tavares struggled to find the words to express his disappointment in a way he has not in the past. He had just played the final game of his seven-season contract and has not signed an extension.

Was it tiring, he was asked, to be speaking about essentially the same result the team experienced in all seven seasons?

“Absolutely,” he said.

John Tavares and Pontus Holmberg get slammed by a pair of Panthers during the third period. (John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)

Tavares’ future as a Leaf is yet to be determined. So too is Marner’s, who answered questions about his future dutifully, but with his head often down and his voice barely reaching above a whisper.

“It’s meant everything,” Marner said of what it’s meant to be a Leaf. “They took a risky pick on a small kid from Toronto and I’ve been forever grateful to be able to wear this Maple Leaf and be a part of some of the great legends here.”

Marner spent the final seconds of the game on the far end of the Leafs bench with his head buried in his lap.

When asked whether the Leafs’ core, of which he is an integral part, deserved another chance together, he said, “We’ll see what happens.” His tone was far less resolute than in years past, when he spoke around the same time of the year while experiencing the same disappointment.

It was never supposed to be this way. This was a Leafs team that was assembled to end the longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history. They had the kind of talent that few other teams do.

And yet nine seasons into a rebuild, only sadness remained.

As the clock moved toward midnight, Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, walked out of the Leafs dressing room.

He had removed the customary Leafs scarf he wears during games from around his shoulders. Instead, he clenched that same scarf tightly in his left hand, walking towards an offseason of change.

(Top photo of fans leaving Game 7: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)

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