Every Maple Leafs playoff exit since 1967, including 14 seventh games

Toronto last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and has not reached a Final since. In the 58 seasons played between then and the end of 2025-26, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs 36 times, won 21 series, lost 36, and were eliminated in a seventh game on fourteen of those occasions. Four of the fourteen were against Boston.

They have reached the final four five times in 59 years. They have not won more than one series in a single playoff year since 2002.

How long has it been since the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup?

Fifty-nine years. Toronto beat Montreal in six games in the 1967 Final, the last before the NHL doubled from six teams to twelve, and has not played in a Final since. Both figures are the longest in the league: no club has gone longer without a Cup, and no club has gone longer without reaching a Final. The distinction matters, because the drought is usually described as playoff misfortune. Toronto has not been beaten in a Cup Final in 59 years. It has not been in one.

Every Maple Leafs season since 1967

Seasons marked G7 ended in a seventh game. The 2004-05 season was canceled by a lockout and was not played.

SeasonResultEliminated bySeries
1967-68Missed playoffs
1968-69Lost QuarterfinalBoston Bruins0-4
1969-70Missed playoffs
1970-71Lost QuarterfinalNew York Rangers2-4
1971-72Lost QuarterfinalBoston Bruins1-4
1972-73Missed playoffs
1973-74Lost QuarterfinalBoston Bruins0-4
1974-75Lost Quarterfinal (won 1 round)Philadelphia Flyers0-4
1975-76Lost Quarterfinal (won 1 round) G7Philadelphia Flyers3-4
1976-77Lost Quarterfinal (won 1 round)Philadelphia Flyers2-4
1977-78Lost Semifinal (won 2 rounds)Montreal Canadiens0-4
1978-79Lost Quarterfinal (won 1 round)Montreal Canadiens0-4
1979-80Lost Preliminary RoundMinnesota North Stars0-3
1980-81Lost Preliminary RoundNew York Islanders0-3
1981-82Missed playoffs
1982-83Lost Division SemifinalMinnesota North Stars1-3
1983-84Missed playoffs
1984-85Missed playoffs
1985-86Lost Division Final (won 1 round) G7St. Louis Blues3-4
1986-87Lost Division Final (won 1 round) G7Detroit Red Wings3-4
1987-88Lost Division SemifinalDetroit Red Wings2-4
1988-89Missed playoffs
1989-90Lost Division SemifinalSt. Louis Blues1-4
1990-91Missed playoffs
1991-92Missed playoffs
1992-93Lost Conference Final (won 2 rounds) G7Los Angeles Kings3-4
1993-94Lost Conference Final (won 2 rounds)Vancouver Canucks1-4
1994-95Lost Conference Quarterfinal G7Chicago Blackhawks3-4
1995-96Lost Conference QuarterfinalSt. Louis Blues2-4
1996-97Missed playoffs
1997-98Missed playoffs
1998-99Lost Conference Final (won 2 rounds)Buffalo Sabres1-4
1999-00Lost Conference Semifinal (won 1 round)New Jersey Devils2-4
2000-01Lost Conference Semifinal (won 1 round) G7New Jersey Devils3-4
2001-02Lost Conference Final (won 2 rounds)Carolina Hurricanes2-4
2002-03Lost Conference Quarterfinal G7Philadelphia Flyers3-4
2003-04Lost Conference Semifinal (won 1 round)Philadelphia Flyers2-4
2004-05Season not played
2005-06Missed playoffs
2006-07Missed playoffs
2007-08Missed playoffs
2008-09Missed playoffs
2009-10Missed playoffs
2010-11Missed playoffs
2011-12Missed playoffs
2012-13Lost Conference Quarterfinal G7Boston Bruins3-4
2013-14Missed playoffs
2014-15Missed playoffs
2015-16Missed playoffs
2016-17Lost First RoundWashington Capitals2-4
2017-18Lost First Round G7Boston Bruins3-4
2018-19Lost First Round G7Boston Bruins3-4
2019-20Lost Qualifying RoundColumbus Blue Jackets2-3
2020-21Lost First Round G7Montreal Canadiens3-4
2021-22Lost First Round G7Tampa Bay Lightning3-4
2022-23Lost Second Round (won 1 round)Florida Panthers1-4
2023-24Lost First Round G7Boston Bruins3-4
2024-25Lost Second Round (won 1 round) G7Florida Panthers3-4
2025-26Missed playoffs

How many times have the Maple Leafs lost a seventh game?

Fourteen, and the record overall is seven wins and fourteen losses in seventh games since 1967. The last win was in 2004 against Ottawa. Every seventh game since has gone the other way: Boston in 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2024, Montreal in 2021, Tampa Bay in 2022 and Florida in 2025.

Three of those seven losses came at home, and all three came after 2021. The home losses are the recent pattern rather than the historical one, because for most of the drought Toronto simply did not have home ice in a seventh game.

READ MORE: How to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs

What was the worst Maple Leafs playoff collapse?

Game 7 against Boston on 13 May 2013. Toronto led 4-1 in the third period. Nathan Horton scored with 10 minutes 42 seconds left, Milan Lucic with 1 minute 22 seconds left, and Patrice Bergeron with 51 seconds left to force overtime, then again 6 minutes 5 seconds into it. It is the only seventh game in NHL history in which a team trailing by three goals in the third period won the game and the series. Toronto had not made the playoffs in the seven preceding seasons.

How far have the Maple Leafs got since 1967?

The final four, five times: 1977-78, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1998-99 and 2001-02. The 1978 run is the one most often forgotten and was the longest shot, beating the New York Islanders in a seventh game before Montreal swept them. The 1993 loss to Los Angeles went to a seventh game and was decided by a Wayne Gretzky goal in Game 7 after his overtime winner in Game 6. In each of the five, the Maple Leafs won two series, which remains their ceiling for a single playoff year. Since 2002, they have won one series in a year four times and none in the other nineteen.

Which team has eliminated the Maple Leafs most often?

Boston, seven times: 1969, 1972, 1974, 2013, 2018, 2019 and 2024. Four of the seven went to a seventh game. Philadelphia is next with five, in 1975, 1976, 1977, 2003 and 2004, and Montreal and St. Louis have three each.

The Boston figure is the one that shapes how the rivalry is discussed, and it is worth separating the two eras: three of the seven came in the six years after 1967, and four came in the eleven years after 2013, with a 39-year gap in between during which the clubs did not meet in the playoffs at all.

How long did the Maple Leafs go without winning a playoff series?

Nineteen years, from April 2004 to April 2023. Toronto beat Ottawa in 2004, then did not win another series until beating Tampa Bay in 2023, a span covering seventeen played seasons in which they reached the playoffs seven times and lost in the first round or the qualifying round every time.

The separate record is seven consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs, from 2005-06 to 2011-12, which becomes eight seasons between appearances once the canceled 2004-05 season is counted.

Did the Maple Leafs make the playoffs in 2026?

No. Toronto was eliminated from contention on 2 April 2026 and finished 32-36-14 for 78 points, eighth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, after losing seven straight games to end the season. It was the club’s first missed playoff year since 2015-16, and it ended nine consecutive appearances, the longest active streak in the NHL. General manager Brad Treliving was dismissed three days before the season finished. Toronto then won the draft lottery and selected Gavin McKenna first overall.

 

Read more about...