Toronto Maple Leafs' Toughest Opponent Revealed and It's Not Who You'd Expect

In the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they have had some pretty iconic and bitter rivalries. From the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins of the Original Six Era, to the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres, the list of clashes is long and storied.

A lot of talk going into the 2024-25 Stanley Cup Playoffs is about who the Maple Leafs are going to play. Will it end up being a Battle of Ontario, or a premium first round matchup with Florida; either way, they have a tough opponent ahead of them regardless.

But it turns out that it really doesn't matter who the team ends up playing, they are still at the mercy of their biggest enemies: Themselves.

As fans pointed out, the Maple Leafs truly are their own worst enemies when it comes to the playoffs, and often will go from electric to apathetic in the blink of an eye and it loses them series on a consistent basis.

One playoff series win in nine years, and that was ended just nearly as quickly as it began. It's been an abject failure frankly, and it isn't close to what's been expected of group filled with such talent and offensive potential.

You have the greatest goal-scorer of the last half-decade, one of the greatest forwards in the world in his prime, a legend in the twilight of his career, and one of the most underrated and under appreciated players and win once? That's brutal.

Granted, the team has never had the goaltending or defense like they have this season, and a lot of it can be due to their cobbled together roster that really wasn't playoff ready. They also didn't seem to have a coach who wanted to light a fire under them, and it cost them dearly (and coincidentally, his job).

If the team is able to get out of their own way and not get comfortable with a lead, or get too cute trying to create offense, then the team is going to be headed down a very successful path.

But if they repeat the same mistakes they've made year in and year out; it won't matter what or who they bring in: Something's rotten in Leafs Nation, and there's no telling where it's coming from.