Brad Marchand makes his thoughts clear on 'Maple Leafs executioner' moniker following Game 7 win

Brad Marchand has been a thorn in the side of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a long time. He consistently comes out on the winning side when faced with them, most notably during the playoffs.

That continued last night as Marchand poured in a goal and two assists to send the Maple Leafs home in their seventh consecutive Game 7 loss. He was asked afterwards about the "Maple Leafs executioner" nickname he's been given.

The Florida Panthers star said (1:45) in his post-game press conference:

“I appreciate that, but no, I don't look at it that way. If you look at the past, I haven’t played well in Game 7s against Toronto. No one player wins anything. I’ve just happened to be part of good teams who have had the upper hand, but if you historically look at the games, I didn’t play well.

"It wasn’t me that beat them, it was our teams. Our teams have always been really deep and good, and I am fortunate to be part of a really, really deep team here right now. So, I don’t look at it that way.”

Previously with the Boston Bruins, Marchand has matched up a ton with the Maple Leafs and has at least proven to be a bad omen for the Toronto franchise.

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Brad Marchand sympathizes with Maple Leafs after elimination

Brad Marchand may have been the reason the Maple Leafs went home early once again, but he's anything but a sore winner. In fact, he showed a lot of grace after the game.

Brad Marchand feels bad for the Maple Leafs (Imagn)

He sympathized with the plight of the Maple Leafs players, saying it's "unfortunate" how much flak they get from fans when they lose. He said, via The Athletic:

“They’ve been working at building something really big here for a while, and they were a different brand of hockey this year. And they’re getting crucified and I don’t think it’s justified.’’

He addressed the intense pressure they face every year, too:

“When you see the pressure that Toronto faces … you see the fans, they just beat the pressure into this team. It’s got to be tough on those guys to walk to the rink every day and not feel that. Because you see the way the fans treat them at the end (throwing jerseys on the ice), how do you not feel that every single day?”

Marchand may be the Leafs' worst nightmare, but he's also apparently their biggest advocate.