Toronto Maple Leafs: Which players have the most pressure in Game 7?

Not with the team long enough or not getting enough ice time for blame

(Pressure Rating: 🔥🔥)

Rasmus Sandin, Travis Dermott, Zach Bogosian, Alex Galchenyuk, Pierre Engvall

In individual instances, all three of Sandin, Dermott and Galchenyuk deserve some blame for boneheaded giveaways so far in this series. But those errors alone are not the reason there is a seventh game.

Bogosian has been solid if unspectacular, which is what you expect from your journeyman defensive types. He won a Cup with Tampa bay last season so he does not have the same veteran urgency to win.

Pierre Engvall has seen some time and even picked up an assist in Game 6. He should not make or break anything you are trying to do as a team. Anything he provides is a bonus.

Been with the team awhile but cannot be expected to carry the load

(Pressure Rating: 🔥🔥🔥)

Justin Holl, Jake Muzzin, Ilya Mikheyev, Zach Hyman, Alexander Kerfoot, John Tavares*

All of these players have been with the team multiple seasons and have seen their share of disappointment come playoff time.

Holl, Mikheyev and Kerfoot are not generally all that noticeable, for better or worse. Any or all of them could be out the door though with another Leafs’ collapse.

Muzzin has been announced out the next three weeks, so he does not have the same pressure of playing. This is his fourth playoffs with the team after being acquired from Los Angeles and was lost to a frightening injury last year against Columbus too. He will personally be feeling an urgency similar to the next group for the team to keep going.

Hyman plays well above his salary and has been the Maple Leafs best forward not named Auston Matthews. He is exactly the kind of player you want in tough games and deserves zero blame if the team flames out again. The pressure he will be feeling is that it could be his final game in the Blue and White as he hits unrestricted free agency and will command a large raise in the offseason. General Manager Kyle Dubas should be doing anything he has to in order to keep Hyman but the team is strapped for cap room.

Tavares is the captain of the team and would be in the final category had it not been for his scary Game 1 injury. He will be watching the game from the press box but has much more invested than the first category players. A win on Monday likely means he will rejoin the team to continue the Stanley Cup quest. However, a loss leaves little room to blame him of course.