The Toronto media has been well known to turn some players off, and after defeating the Maple Leafs in Game 7, Matthew Tkachuk called them out.
After showing so much promise, the Toronto Maple Leafs fell in Game 7 of the second round in 2025, once again failing to deliver on all the potential that they’ve built up with this talented roster.
While many see this as two fantastic teams with the better one on the night coming out on top, the Toronto media has heaped way too much pressure and criticism on their team, and it could likely lead to Mitch Marner being run out of town.
That’s something that Matthew Tkachuk addressed on the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast after they once more eliminated the Maple Leafs, noting how little the media effects the team down in Florida.
“I think that we played well, sometimes you feel bad for them because they have some unbelievable players and a great team.
“If their team was not in Toronto dealing with all the crazy circus stuff outside of it, they’d be an unbelievable team. I feel bad. We don’t have to deal with that in Florida and 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 by 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 and Bob had to come up huge for us.
“They definitely didn’t lay an egg at all, they took us to Game 7.”
