The Toronto Maple Leafs came up short again in the postseason. In a nearly annual event, Toronto lost in Game 7 last night, marking the Leafs' sixth such defeat in eight years. But the Florida Panthers' Brad Marchand is seemingly coming to Toronto's defense.

Marchand, known as an uber-talented pest and troll on and off the ice, took a moment following the Panthers' win to speak on the Leafs and the pressure they faced from the vocal and often critical Toronto media and fanbase.

“Brad Marchand says the Leafs shouldn't be ‘crucified' for their performance in this series,” The Athletic's Chris Johnston posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Reiterates his belief that they were a different team than those he faced in the past.”

Specifically, Marchand said the fans place undue “pressure” on the Leafs.

“When you look at that, then you see the pressure Toronto faces, and everyone is talking about the 20 or 30-year build-up,” Marchand said [h/t Yahoo Sports]. “You see the fans and the way they are talking, they just beat the pressure into this team.

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“It's gotta be tough on those guys to walk to the rink every day and not feel that. You see the way the fans treat them at the end. How do you not feel that every single day?”

Some perceived Marchand's comments as trolling the Leafs, considering he and Toronto have had a long rivalry. Until two and a half months ago, Marchand had played his entire NHL career for the Boston Bruins, one of the Maple Leafs' most intense rivals. Still, Marchand had said earlier in the series that he believed Toronto to be a different team than in years past.

Unfortunately, the result remained the same; the Leafs have lost seven consecutive Game 7s, including six with the trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Coincidentally, four of those losses have come against Marchand's team, as he and the Bruins defeated Toronto in Game 7 in 2018, 2019, and 2024 before the Panthers did so this year.

Offense, a calling card of this Leafs era, has obviously gone missing in the critical games; they have scored one goal in each of the last five games and have been outscored 18-5 in those games.

The Maple Leafs will have some big decisions to make about how they plan to move forward, while the Panthers now turn their attention to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face the Carolina Hurricanes. Game 1 of the ECF is set for tomorrow in Raleigh at 7 p.m. ET.