The Toronto Maple Leafs spoke to the media after a second-round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Sunday.
The Leafs lost 6-1 in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers after initially taking a 2-0 series lead against the defending champions. The team is now 0-7 in Game 7s since 2004.
The latest playoff disappointment for Leafs fans comes as Mitch Marner and John Tavares, both members of the team‘s so-called “Core Four” alongside William Nylander and captain Auston Matthews, are set to become free agents this summer.
The team spoke to reporters Tuesday morning. Here’s what they said.
12:00 p.m.
Joseph Woll stopped 28 shots for the Leafs and said “it’s never a good feeling” to be on the losing end of a Game 7.
“But I think, you try to allow the different emotions to come in that are natural and expected and I think, after you get a little time to reflect, ultimately every experience is there for growing and I have no doubt that this will be the same thing.”
11:40 a.m.
Goalie Anthony Stolarz confirmed he did suffer a concussion in Game 1 after he took an elbow to the head from Panthers centre Sam Bennett and called the inability to play for the rest of the series “extremely frustrating.”
“Just not being able to be out there with the guys…it was just an unfortunate incident that, you know, he just caught me in a bad spot and I just had to go through the steps to get healthy.”
11:33 a.m.
Matthews revealed that it was a challenging season for him physically, noting that he injured himself in training camp.
“Definitely a tough year physically….but I’m really confident I’ll be back 100 per cent next season.”
Matthews was sidelined early in the season and travelled to Germany to treat what was described at the time as an upper-body injury.
The captain wouldn’t disclose what the injury was exactly but said it “impacted a lot of different things” when asked if his shooting was affected. Matthews netted just one goal in the series with Florida.
11:18 a.m.
Marner was asked about his future with the Leafs, or any other team, and said he hasn’t considered it in the aftermath of Sunday’s loss.
“It’s so fresh, it’s tough to really think about anything right now going forward and future wise. I was hoping to be playing a hockey game tonight and that’s not the outcome. I haven’t thought about anything. Next couple of weeks I’ll sit down with my wife, and we’ll start talking and start trying to figure out what the next steps are.”
11:17 a.m.
Marner said he was “saddened” following the result of Sunday’s game.
“Devastated, in a way. I mean, it’s never easy there’s no words really to put to it. It’s hard. It gets harder.”
11:10 a.m.
Tavares said he’s “very optimistic” he’ll return next season.
“Obviously my contract is done, but you know, we’re coming up soon for decisions to be made…I’ve had positive conversations with (the front office) today and you know very optimistic that it can work out where I’m back…"
“I’ve expressed my desire to stay and wanting to make it work,” Tavares said in response to a follow-up question about his free agency.
11:07 a.m.
Nylander was asked what reasons he would give to see a return of the “Core Four” next season.
“I mean, lost in a Game 7 against the Stanley Cup champs. I think that’s a pretty good step. And I think we’ve grown together and learned a lot of things and I think when you have a group that goes through hardships together it just makes them stronger in the end.”
10:58 a.m.
Defenceman Morgan Rielly said the team “lost its structure” in the Game 7 blowout.
“And then you spend the rest of the game trying to get back and so you know the difference between our best and our worst I think is too much.”
10:55 a.m.
At a news conference, coach Craig Berube was asked if he’d like to see Marner and Tavares resign with the Leafs, to which he said “100 per cent.”
10:50 a.m.
On what Berube will tell his team this off season:
“It hurts right now, it hurts,” he said.
“So for me, you know, a big takeaway as you go home this summer, you become tougher mentally and tougher physically, because you’re going to need it for next year.”
10:48 a.m.
Berube said Matthews is “only going to grow as a leader.”
“I think understanding what it takes to be a leader, and the things you got to do, not only on the ice, but off the ice. You know, there’s a lot that goes into it. And I thought he grew extremely well as a leader.”
Matthews said following Sunday night’s loss that the team had “too many passengers” to retake the lead.
10:40 a.m.
Asked about coaching Marner, Berube said he “loves the guy.”
“Love his energy, personality. He’s a hell of a player. You know, he does a lot for this team, night in, night out, in a lot of different areas.”
10:36 a.m.
Speaking about the pressure to win a Stanley Cup following a nearly 60-year drought, Berube said the “only pressure” the Leafs should be feeling is in the locker room.
“Pressure is pressure. I understand it. I do. And this is a hard market, and it’s a great market, though, and you gotta look at it that way, in my opinion. But pressure comes from inside the locker room. That’s it. That’s, you know, your teammates are the most important people, and that, to me, is the only pressure.”
10:35 a.m.
Berube said he won’t talk about any injuries that may have been present during the Leafs’ playoff run.
“This time of year, there’s a lot of players going through a lot, like ours, and that’s fine. That’s normal, and you gotta battle your way through it, and that’s all you can do.”
10:30 a.m.
Berube started his news conference Tuesday by reflecting on Sunday night’s game.
“We all look at Game 7 and nobody’s happy. That’s understandable, but we did a lot of good things this year that I’m very proud of,” he said.
“We have to learn from this Game 7 here going forward, and we will learn from it and we’ll be better,” he said in response to a follow-up question about the series.
