Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Audio By Carbonatix
The Maple Leafs saw their Stanley Cup dreams die in brutal fashion yet again after getting blown out by the Panthers in the deciding game of their second-round showdown. You could argue the team fell victim to the “Drake Curse” after he placed a sizeable wager on them to win, but the rapper decided to pin the blame on Justin Bieber.
There isn’t a single NHL team dealing with a longer Stanley Cup drought than the Maple Leafs, who trail only the Canadiens with the most championships at 13 but haven’t earned the right to lift the hallowed trophy since 1967.
Toronto had made the playoffs seven times in eight years heading into the current season, but the team had been eliminated in the first round on six of those occasions and ended up on the wrong side of a Game 7 result in five of those appearances.
The Maple Leafs and their fans were obviously hoping things would pan out differently in 2025 after they clinched the top spot in the Atlantic Division during the regular season, and they got off to a promising start by dispatching the Senators in six games in the first round.
Toronto also got off on the right foot by pulling out to a 2-0 lead over the Panthers in the ensuing round, but Florida responded by winning three games in a row before their opponents staved off elimination to force a Game 7 in Toronto on Sunday night.
The two teams were still tied at zero after the first period, but the Panthers pulled out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the second and never looked back while coasting to a 6-1 victory to send the Leafs home packing in front of a friendly crowd that turned hostile as their squad came up short yet again.
A fan threw a beer at the Leafs on the bench.
Marner had to sidestep a thrown jersey before skating to the bench on his final shift as he was getting booed.
This. Is. Ugly.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) May 19, 2025
Drake was one of the many members of the Toronto faithful who were left disappointed by the result when you consider it cost him a $2.3 million payday (I’d say he lost a $1 million bet, but all evidence suggests it was heavily subsidized by the gambling company he’s partnered with).
It would be easy to say this was the latest incident of the so-called “Drake Curse” rearing its ugly head as yet another team the artist has thrown his support behind came up short, but he passed the buck to another musician hailing from Canada by asserting Justin Bieber (who was sitting behind Toronto’s bench) deserved the blame.
¿Por qué no los dos?