The Toronto Maple Leafs could be on the verge of returning to the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2004, a drought that extends back to before the NHL lockout year and the changes that came with it for arguably the most intense hockey market. While on the surface it appears to be a good thing to Maple Leafs’ fans that their team could be heading back to the postseason, this run will be that much more harmful to the franchise in terms of its long-term outlook, as it continues to avoid its biggest problem, which is the fact that they are not on the right track to being a legitimate contender.

Fighting among the eight teams that are currently holding down a playoff spot in the Eastern conference has provided fans in Toronto with the illusion that they are progressing towards their ultimate goal, which is to bring the Stanley Cup home for the first time since 1967. However, while the mediocre season that the Maple Leafs’ have given their fans may be good enough to make the playoffs in a relatively weak conference, it won’t get them any closer to the big prize. Toronto has managed to tread water in the eighth spot for the past couple of weeks while the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, and Tampa Bay Lightning each continue to struggle, but the reality is that if the pay head bookies established future lines for which of those franchises would win the cup next the odds are that the Maple Leafs would be at the bottom of the list.

The Canadiens and Capitals both underwent major coaching changes this season in pursuit of a new direction, and while Washington is now much closer to overtaking Toronto for eighth in the conference with a solid core that still includes Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the Canadiens aren’t very far away even with injuries to captain Brian Gionta and defenseman Andrei Markov handicapping their lineup. The Lightning could very well be ahead of the Maple Leafs at this point if they had better goaltending, while Buffalo also has a solid young core with Thomas Vanek, Tyler Myers, and Ryan Miller and is still favored in most of its games according to the sites listed with the sportsbook reviews.

For Toronto, a sports betting option that has provided sub-.500 results over the course of its past 10 games, there is no solid foundation on which the team is built beyond leading scorer Phil Kessel. The team’s top center Mikhail Grabovski has been talked about in trade rumors as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, while popular opinion varies on captain Dion Phaneuf, who has been exposed several times already this year. James Reimer has not been able to step up and perform with the consistency required of a No. 1 goaltender, and their really is no plan B in place should he fail with Jonas Gustavsson set to move on by the end of the year. The Maple Leafs may still be holding down one of the top eight spots in a weak conference, but that has only influenced the team’s biggest problem, which is the illusion that they are that much closer to being a true contender than perennial pretender.