It’s been just short of 20 weeks since the Toronto Maple Leafs last played. It’s been seven weeks since the doors at the Ford Performance Centre first opened for coordinated workouts to begin.
It’s been a long, long time coming for the franchise as the NHL inches closer and closer toward successfully restarting its season amid a global pandemic.
And it could all be over, just like that.
You know by now that the Maple Leafs must survive the Columbus Blue Jackets in a five-game, midsummer qualification series to advance into the traditional phase and format of the Stanley Cup playoffs.