1. Toronto Maple Leafs
The Battle of Ontario will always be important for Ontario and everyone in Canada. No matter what the record is, the Senators fans and team will always hate the Toronto Maple Leafs. Under five hours separate the two cities.
The Senators and Maple Leafs have met four times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs four times, but the results were always the same, with the Maple Leafs winning every series.
From 2000-2002, the two teams met in the playoffs for three consecutive years. The most brutal series loss the Senators suffered was in 2002 when they were defeated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games. The two met again in the 2004 first round, but the Maple Leafs won the series again in seven games.
Despite the Senators not winning one Stanley Cup since they began their first season 1992-93, the Senators have the right to shut Maple Leaf fans up by their playoff success since 2003, which is ironically the year after they fell to the Maple Leafs in the second round.
Since 2003, the Senators have played in three Eastern Conference Finals, have played in one Stanley Cup Final, and have won 10 playoff match ups. Since the Maple Leafs defeated the Senators in the 2004 playoffs, they have only won one playoff series which came in 2023.
The Battle of Ontario will always intensify with every meeting. This season offers to have a lot of drama with the Senators trading for 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark. If Ullmark plays like he did in Boston, he can be the determining factor the Senators to be a sneaky team to compete with the Maple Leafs and rest of the Atlantic Division in 2025.