David Pastrnak's unexpected confession about the Toronto Maple Leafs will leave you speechless

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Daniel Lucente
August 26, 2024 (10:24)

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Bruins David Pastrnak was recently interviewed on the NHL's European media tour, and he shockingly revealed that he felt the Leafs were better than the Bruins.

In the thrilling moments of the first overtime period of Game 7, David Pastrnak delivered a major blow to Leafs Nation. With lightning speed, he surged past Mitch Marner, cutting through the Maple Leafs zone to claim a dumped puck from the end boards. With unbelievable finesse, he outplayed Ilya Samsonov, clinching a 2-1 victory for the Bruins and putting them into the second round of the playoffs.

During the last few weeks, the NHL conducted a media tour all over different countries in Europe. During one of the interviews, David Pastrnak shared his thoughts on the recent signings of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm by the Bruins. He seemed to be very excited about these new additions.

Shockingly, Pastrnak revealed that despite the Bruins finishing higher than the Leafs in the regular season standings, both he and the team regarded the Leafs as the much better team. They considered themselves to be the underdogs in the upcoming playoff matchup at the time, despite having had home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"We proved a lot of people wrong, last year. We were not even supposed to make the playoffs. We beat a better team on paper."

- David Pastrnak

David Pastrnak's comments are shocking due to the fact he stated that his Boston Bruins were not supposed to make the playoffs, which is quite shocking considering the year before they won the President's Trophy in a historically great season, so no doubt many experts had them penciled into a playoff spot again. Many believed the Maple Leafs had the upper hand in the series due to their strong offensive lineup. However, injuries to key players such as William Nylander and Auston Matthews at critical moments greatly shifted the momentum towards the Bruins.

Adding to their problems, John Tavares and Mitch Marner struggled to contribute, and the power play fell apart, resulting in yet another first-round exit for the Leafs. This disappointment led to major changes in both the coaching staff and the roster. Sheldon Keefe is out and will now coach the New Jersey Devils, whereas Craig Berube will be taking over as the new head coach of the Leafs for next season.

As training camp approaches, all eyes will be on how the remaining Leafs roster shapes up and how Craig Berube adjusts his lines, as the team gears up for its first season under their new head coach.

David Pastrnak had an unbelievable season for the Bruins, having scored 47 goals and 63 assists for 110 points in all of his team's 82 games. He took a slight step back in the playoffs, where in 13 games he only had four goals and eight points, likely a major reason why the Bruins were unable to advance past the second round of the playoffs. No doubt David Pastrnak will be ready for the upcoming season, and there will definitely be some great battles against their division rival Leafs.

Source: Elite Prospects
David Pastrnak Stats