In a surprise twist, even the Panthers are feeling 'bad' for the Leafs
Florida Panthers’ Brad Marchand refused a nickname a reporter came up with after his team’s win Sunday night: “Maple Leafs Executioner.”
Athlon Sports reported Monday the nickname was given to the 37-year-old Nova Scotia native by a reporter during a press conference after the Leafs were eliminated in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night in Toronto.
“I appreciate that, but no, I don’t look at it that way,” Marchand said, as seen in a video shared by the Panthers on YouTube . “If you look at the past, I haven’t played well in Game 7s against Toronto. No one player wins anything.
“I’ve just happened to be part of good teams who have had the upper hand, but if you historically look at the games, I didn’t play well. It wasn’t me that beat them, it was our teams,” Marchand was quoted as saying.
Not only did Marchand score once and added two assists in Game 7, but “he also made history by becoming the first player in NHL history to win five Game 7s against a single franchise, four with the Boston Bruins and one now with Florida,” Athlon Sports reported.
Matthew Tkachuk on why Toronto Maple Leafs are losing
Panthers’ forward Matthew Tkachuk appeared as a guest star on the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast on Monday morning and discussed what he thinks is holding back the Leafs.
“Sometimes you feel bad for them because they have some unbelievable players and a great team,” the 27-year-old said. “I was actually saying this last night to some of the guys. If their team was not in Toronto, dealing with all the crazy circus stuff outside of it, they’d be an unbelievable team and such a hard team to play. They just have so much to deal with, and I feel bad.”
“We don’t have to deal with that in Florida,” Tkachuk added. “I feel like that’s what makes me and my team so lucky. You almost use that against them. The pressure that these guys have to deal with day in and day out. I wasn’t surprised with how they played. They had stretches in those games where they played really well. Look at last night. That second half of the first period, they were unreal. (Panthers goaltender Sergei) Bob (Bobrovsky) had to come up huge for us. They definitely didn’t lay an egg at all. They played us well. They took us to Game 7.”
“If their team was not in Toronto dealing with all the crazy circus stuff outside of it, they’d be an unbelievable team.”@TKACHUKycheese_ actually feels bad for the Toronto Maple Leafs.https://t.co/R1k3PoiZ4Q pic.twitter.com/O7do2R7GNG
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) May 19, 2025
Tkachuk also spoke in support of his friend Auston Matthews, the Leafs’ star centre.
“I think he’s been playing really well this whole series. He’s a force at both ends. And I got to see his leadership at the 4 Nations and how he leads by example,” said Tkachuk, as reported in The Leafs Nation.
Justin Bieber believes in Leafs: ‘I know this is the team to do it’
The Toronto Maple Leafs might have been eliminated from their Stanley Cup run, but they still have one fan who believes in them.
Life-long Leafs fan Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Bieber attended the Sunday night game. Despite the stinging loss, the 31-year-old performer remained steadfast in his loyalty to the team.
The Ontario native said in an Instagram post that he doesn’t remember a time in his life when he wasn’t obsessed with the “leafsssss.” “This year we made it farther than we have in so long and im happy about that I can be patient cuz I know this is the team to do it,” Bieber wrote.
With the win, the Panthers will now face Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.