Maple Leafs' 9-year streak officially over

Maple Leafs' 9-year streak officially over originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly weren't fooling anyone, but the reality became official on Thursday night.

The Leafs won't be going to the playoffs. They were officially eliminated. Their loss to send them home for sure came 4-1 at the hands of the San Jose Sharks .

It ends a streak of nine consecutive playoff seasons for the Maple Leafs. They had gone seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season against the eventual Stanley Cup repeat champion Florida Panthers , but Toronto was unable to recapture that level this season. The offseason departure of Mitch Marner didn't help, but this season was about more than just the loss of Marner.

The depth pieces the Maple Leafs added didn't help enough. There were injuries, and even when players were on the ice, there were struggles, like a double-digit point-less streak for Auston Matthews before Radko Gudas' hit ended the captain's season. MORE: Canucks clinch crucial NHL Draft lottery spot It's been clear for months that making the playoffs would be a tough ask for Toronto, and when the Maple Leafs went on an immediate winless streak out of the Olympic break, it was all but certain.