The Maple Leafs may have lost their final regular game to the Jackets, meaning that they'll have to take on the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs, but there was still plenty to celebrate for fans in Leaf nation on Sunday.
Firstly, the Leafs will play in the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Second, the Leafs rookie class performed remarkably well. Yes, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Wiliam Nylander have been given their fair share of praise, but the Leafs squad had a number of young players who performed considerably well in their first full season in the NHL. Look no further than this tweet from Mark Masters to illustrate just how well the team's youth core performed in 2016-17.
Not only did the Leafs have three rookies score over 60 points this season (there's a reason they're so popular in Toronto), but two more were in the 15 in scoring. The Leafs will be faced with a tough task in round one, taking on the NHL's hottest team, but at the very least, fans of the team can take solace in the fact that whatever the outcome of the series is, Toronto's future seems to be very bright.
