When it comes to the NHL playoffs, there are always a bunch of myths, theories, and controversies that end up repeating themselves over time. For example, the Winnipeg Jets have just fallen victim to the curse of the President’s Trophy by being knocked out of round 2 by the Dallas Stars and losing their Stanley Cup chances despite having the most points in the regular season. Now, with the Florida Panthers having defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in game 7, the common denominator in the last 5 game 7 losses for the Leafs seems to be a single player: Brad Marchand, who beat the Leafs 4 consecutive times while he played for the Boston Bruins prior to this Florida victory!
So, buckle up for the building of a whole new myth! Even the official NHL account tweeted about Marchand’s achievement: “Brad Marchand is the first player in NHL history to win five winner-take-all games against the same franchise.”
In his postgame interview, when Brad Marchand was asked about being the Toronto Killer who has managed to contribute firsthand to their last five Game 7 defeats, Marchand played it cool. “I appreciate that,” the Panthers left winger said. “But, you know, no, I don’t look at it that way. I think if you look at the past, I actually haven’t played well in Game Sevens against Toronto, you know, so I mean no one player wins any; I just happen to be part of good teams that have had the upper hand.”
But if you actually historically look at the games, I didn’t play well; it wasn’t me that beat them, it was our team, and our teams have always been really deep and good. And I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of a really really deep team here right now. ” Marchand decided to stick to a graceful approach in his answer, but the truth is in this most recent game 7 he scored one of Florida’s six goals and assisted on two others, so to say he didn’t play well is an understatement.
Marchand then even went on to comment on the Leafs’ effort this season, saying, “They’ve been working at building something really big here for a while, and they were a different brand of hockey this year, and they’re getting crucified, and I don’t think it’s justified.” Marchand was referring to the way the Leafs fans reacted following their playoff elimination, with many fans leaving before full time and many Leafs sweaters thrown onto the ice.
Brad Marchand’s contribution to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last five Game 7 eliminations
So, yes, Marchand chose the high road, which is commendable, but how did all those Game 7s really go down? Let’s do a bit of a recap.
Over the past five years, Brad Marchand has scored a total of nine goals and 24 assists in the past 35 career playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now, Marchand has broken an NHL record to be the first player in history to win all five elimination games against the same franchise. It’s funny because Marchand, who grew up near Halifax, Nova Scotia, grew up a Leafs fan! Maybe that’s partly why he took a stand for the franchise.
Brad Marchand’s last Game 7 win against the Leafs was in 2024 in round 1 of the playoffs. Marchand was still with the Bruins then, and despite the Bruins being up 3-1 in the series, Toronto managed to force a Game 7; however, it was here that the Bruins bagged the win, with Pastrnak scoring in overtime. Perhaps this is what Marchand means when he said in that postgame interview, “I didn’t play well; it wasn’t me that beat them, it was our team and our team, our teams have always been really deep and good.”
So whether or not Marchand played a part in the winning itself, he was indeed the common denominator, though to view oneself as a curse for your childhood team is probably not the ultimate manifestation of the dream!
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