Maple Leafs players faced crushing loss “head on” while gathering at John Tavares' cottage

It's a story that's certainly not going to go away any time soon, and they know it.

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of their Original 6 rival Montreal Canadiens during the opening round of last season's Stanley Cup Playoffs, blowing a 3-1 series lead and dropping the deciding Game 7 on home ice. It marks the 5th consecutive opening round loss for the Leafs, who have entered the past few years with far loftier expectations. 

Sometimes after such a crushing setback, one needs to take a step back and get away from it all. And to that end, Leafs captain John Tavares, who missed the majority of the playoff series after suffering an injury in the opening game, invited the team to his summer cottage. And according to forward Wayne Simmonds, they faced their defeat head-on.

“We had a great dialogue with one another; we kept it real," Simmonds said earlier today. "We got to address what happened head-on, we’re not hiding from it. You learn from it”

The Leafs will open their exhibition schedule on September 25 against the Habs.