Florida Panthers Tanking for the Maple Leafs? No, They Are Not

On Sunday night, with the Florida Panthers pulling even more of their star players from the lineup, noted Toronto Maple Leafs fan and TNT studio analyst Paul Bissonnette claims something sinister is going down.

The Panthers, he said, are losing on purpose.

Paul Maurice, Bissonnette said, is tanking in order to get the Panthers out of another matchup with the Tampa Bay in favor of playing the Maple Leafs in the first round.

Bissonnette, who played 202 NHL games, was certainly having some fun.

He even donned a tin foil hat during the TNT broadcast Sunday — where the Panthers lost their fifth straight game, this one 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings.

“Boston gave up Brad Marchand for nothing,’’ Bissonnette said in his faux outrage. “He somehow ends up in Florida, and now, somehow Florida, a great team, is going to keep losing down the stretch? They have $49 million is sitting in a press box right now. This is an inside job. Gary Bettman needs to look into it.’’

The Panthers are losing, yes.

They are also sitting a number of top players including captain Sasha Barkov and leading scorer Sam Reinhart with Maurice saying the Panthers need to get healthy if they want another deep playoff push — one they hope ends with the Stanley Cup spending more time in South Florida.

But are the Panthers tanking?

No, they are not.

The Panthers were in a real battle for the Atlantic Division crown just a week ago.

Going into last Tuesday’s game in Montreal, Florida was two points behind Toronto for first place.

The Panthers then lost the next four, and go into tonight’s game with the Leafs six points out of first place.

Florida will not win the Atlantic this season.

Home ice, for all intent and purpose, is gone.

The Panthers do not care who they play in the first round of the playoffs. Whether Florida opens with the Lightning or Leafs is of no concern.

So, they would rather get players as close to 100 percent as they can rather than have them gassed for some meaningless wins in the final weeks of the regular season.

Bissonnett said Bettman “needs to do his job and investigate what Paul Maurice and the Panthers are trying to pull against my Toronto Maple Leafs. We want the Battle of Ontario! We want the Battle of Florida! Let’s stick to the script. I don’t want Brad Marchand in the first round!”

Biz has the tinfoil hat on…

The Panthers are tanking out of the 3rd spot in the division to draw Toronto in the first round of the playoffs 🤣 pic.twitter.com/03R3mpKuBU

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) April 6, 2025

Maurice has been speaking about his thoughts on how the final weeks would go down for some time.

A couple of weeks ago, Maurice said it does not matter whom his Panthers play in the first round because “you’re going to have to beat a team out of Ontario, and you’re going to have to beat a team out of Florida to get to where you want to go.’’

Trying to game the system and “pick’’ your opponent rarely works — except, perhaps, when the New York Islanders faded in the final two games of the 2016 season so they could avoid the Penguins and play the Panthers in the first round.

That worked out OK.

Maurice knows that wherever the Panthers end up, that is who they will play.

Tell the Panthers where the first game is, and they’ll be there.

And, with five games left in the regular season, the Panthers may just end up as a wild card and have to travel to Toronto for that first-round series.

Ottawa is two points behind the Panthers and playing like a team who is charging into the playoffs after missing them for the past seven years.

The Panthers are closing in on 300 games played over the past three seasons.

If Maurice thinks it is best to rest some of his guys, hey, they probably could use it.

With the eight teams who are going to make it in the Eastern Conference, you better be at your best.

As Maurice pointed out, the Panthers, Lightning, Leafs, and Senators will all play in the same playoff pod.

The survivor of that four-team gauntlet gets the Metropolitan side of the bracket.

Good luck.

“If you win your games,” Maurice said, “the door prize is the Washington Capitals, possibly … or Carolina.

“Believe me, you’re not feeling comfortable playing any of these guys.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 78

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS at FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: ESPN
• National Streaming: ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• This Season (Panthers Lead 2-1) — At Florida: Panthers 5, Leafs 1 (Nov.27); Tuesday. At Toronto: Panthers 3, Maple Leafs 2 (March 14); Maple Leafs 3, Panthers 2 (April 2).
• Last Season: Tied 2-2
• All-time Regular Season Series: Toronto leads 51-39-7, 7 ties
• All-time Postseason: Panthers d. Maple Leafs 4-1 (2023 ECS)
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. Detroit Red Wings, 7 p.m.