The end of Maple Leafs' Core 4? 3 reasons why Toronto's superstars never quite lived up to the expectations

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Toronto has fallen short of expectations again, and after this playoff exit, it appears the Maple Leafs' core four is officially over.

Here are three reasons why the core four appears to be over.

3 reasons why Toronto's superstars never quite lived up to the expectations

#1, Lack of heart

Toronto's superstars of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander seemed to always struggle when the going gets tough.

In winner-take-all games, the Maple Leafs' Core Four struggles to do anything, and many have said it's a lack of heart. It does appear those four are missing the killer instinct of knowing what it takes to win a Game 7 and eliminate teams.

The lack of heart and effort in those winner-take-all games was a major factor.

#2, Took too much money

Another key reason why the Maple Leafs didn't get over the hump is the fact their superstars never gave the team discount and held out for the most amount of money possible.

Auston Matthews signed short-term deals so he could keep getting more money as the cap rose, while Mitch Marner threatened to sit out games, and William Nylander did sit out games waiting to get the most amount of money possible. John Tavares signed with his hometown team in free agency but also took the most money possible in the deal.

If any of the Maple Leafs' Core Four decided to take $1-2 million less, it would have given Toronto $4-8 million more to work with to add better depth players around them.

#3, Not being able to play playoff hockey

Toronto was dominant in the regular season, but when the playoffs came, the Core Four struggled.

To win in the playoffs, teams have to play differently, and the Maple Leafs' star players could never adapt to playoff hockey. Flashy plays and selfish moves weren't going to win.

Instead, trying to win games 2-1 with tip-ins and goals in the crease was the way to score in the playoffs. Toronto's stars, however, couldn't realize that and instead kept trying to get the flashy and perfect goals all the time.

Ultimately, for multiple reasons, Toronto's Core Four couldn't get it done in the playoffs.