Jon Cooper has one message — call it a warning — for anyone thinking that the Toronto Maple Leafs should break up their core, just because they once again lost in Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs.

You’re going to regret it.

“I’m not in that room. I coach the Tampa Bay Lightning,” Cooper said following Saturday night’s 2-1 win against Toronto. “But I know some of their players. I’ve been behind the bench with Morgan Rielly. I’ve been behind the bench with Mitch Marner. I’ve been behind the bench with Auston Matthews.

“And if those guys became available, I would be first in line to put them on my team.”

This wasn’t Cooper trying to consul Leafs fans who are wondering if their team is ever going to get over the hump. Rather, this was a sign of respect for a team that gave as good as it could, but still ended up falling short in a best-of-seven series that went the distance.

“That was as evenly matched a series as you’re going to see,” said Cooper. “This wasn’t a 4-0 sweep. This was we were down 3-2 in the series and we found a way, but it was as close as it can be. I personally answered the same questions that they’re going to answer now three years ago — maybe in a different way I guess, because we had gone to a final a few years earlier — but they gave us everything that we can handle.”

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from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

This wasn’t about 18 years of futility. This wasn’t about 55 years without a Stanley Cup. This wasn’t about what may or may not have happened in the past.

This wasn’t about all the history of playoff defeat in the Maple Leafs’ past — and some will make it that way — or the frustration of blowing a 4-1 lead in Boston or a 3-1 series lead against a so-so Montreal team. Or all the Game 7 defeats of the past.

This was about one night, one game, one punch in the gut and a whole lot of frustration.

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