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Leafs' John Tavares, Joseph Woll give befitting reply to Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand's subtle dig at Toronto fanbase

Modified May 21, 2025 12:53 GMT

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have grown sick of the same song and dance this time of year. Nine years of the Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander era have resulted in just two playoff series wins, despite postseason appearances every year.

The fan base has seen its team lose in every way, from blowing series leads to Game 7 heartbreaks and getting shut down by their opponents. In 2025, it got even worse. The Maple Leafs combined it all into one during their second-round series with the Florida Panthers.

A 2-0 series lead evaporated as the Panthers shut the Maple Leafs down the rest of the way, eliminating them with a 6-1 blowout in Game 7 in Toronto. Fans have displayed their anger and frustration with another playoff failure.

In the aftermath, Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, among others, came to the Maple Leafs' defense, claiming that the market puts too much pressure on its team. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun shared John Tavares' comments on the matter on X (formerly Twitter).

"There's pressure everywhere. It's an unbelievable place to play, an incredible fan base that loves its team and so badly wants to see you win. When it happens here again, it's going to be something pretty remarkable, and you want to be a part of that," Tavares said.

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John Tavares is a pending UFA in the final season of the seven-year, $77,000,000 contract he signed to come home to Toronto in 2018.

Joseph Woll, meanwhile, said he could not be happier playing in Toronto.

"First off, I think there's pressure anywhere you play. And the thing about pressure is, it comes from a good place, right? It comes from us having fans that care. It comes from us having media that cares, from players that care. I've had a unique experience of only playing for this team, so I can't really speak for an experience of playing for a different team," Woll said.

"But I know that there's nowhere I'd rather play, and I'm happy how much people care. And it really makes you have to focus that much harder and really be in the moment that much more when you have that pressure. The flip side is, you don't have pressure, and no one cares. I think it's pretty awesome that everyone cares as much," Woll added.

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Woll's comments will certainly further endear him to the Toronto Maple Leafs fanbase.

About the author

Jackson Weber is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with a Bcomm degree in Business and Sport Management from the University of Guelph.

Jackson has grown up as a lifelong Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are his all-time favorite players. Watching the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times is an experience that Jackson will never forget. Years later, you realize how rare it is to see your favorite team win even once, so three championships were just incredible.

When not watching, playing, or writing about sports, Jackson loves to cook and is passionate about health and nutrition.

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