The Toronto Maple Leafs season came to an end Friday night with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5.
Nick Cousins scored the overtime winner for the Panthers.
Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe scored in the first period for the Panthers.
Morgan Rielly brought the Maple Leafs to within one in the second, then thought he had tied the game on a play late in the middle frame. While Rielly excitedly celebrated after he made a move to tuck the puck around Sergei Bobrovsky’s pad, the officials disallowed the goal and said the play was dead before the puck entered the net.
William Nylander did ultimately tie the game for the Maple Leafs with just under five minutes to go in the third, but the Panthers secured the win in overtime to end the series.
The loss ends what had been an optimistic spring in Toronto with a thud. Now the team will enter a potentially franchise-altering off-season with the fate of general manager Kyle Dubas, head coach Sheldon Keefe, and star players Auston Matthews and Nylander all hanging in the balance.
Changes are expected after a seventh consecutive post-season that ended in disappointment and the team tight against the salary cap. But the first question will be whether Dubas — who doesn’t have a contract for next season — will be the one to navigate the necessary roster changes.
Matthews, the five-time 40-goal scorer, was held without a goal in the series with the Panthers. He is eligible to sign a new contract in July and could test unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024. Nylander, who had 40 goals this season for the first time in his career, has the same contract timeline as Matthews and could be a desirable player for other teams looking to add scoring in a trade.
