All-Time Teams: Maple Leafs

We're entering the home stretch - just five more franchises to go. Today's team has won the second-most Stanley Cups in NHL history. Here's the All-Time roster for the Toronto Maple Leafs:

The Leafs have won the Cup twelve times, including the last Stanley Cup of the "Original Six" era in 1967. They have not returned to the final since expansion.

1st Line

Left Wing - Frank Mahovlich The 1958 Rookie of the Year, Frank Mahovlich spent the first 11 seasons of his Hall of Fame career in Toronto. The Leafs' seventh-leading point scorer is tied with George Armstrong for sixth in team history with 296 goals. A 15-time All-Star, Mahovlich led the NHL in even-strength goals twice and won six Stanley Cups - four for the Maple Leafs and two while playing alongside his brother Pete with the Canadiens.

Center - Darryl Sittler The second-leading scorer in the storied history of the Maple Leafs, Darryl Sittler scored 389 of his 484 career goals with Toronto. His 916 points, 120 power play goals, and 70.1 offensive point shares are also second in franchise annals. The Hall of Famer set career highs with 45 goals and 117 points in 1977-78, earning him a third-place finish in Hart trophy voting. Sittler owns the NHL record for most points in a single game with a 10-point performance against the Bruins in 1976.

Right Wing - Mats Sundin A point-a-game player throughout his Hall of Fame career, Mats Sundin is Toronto's all-time leading goal scorer with 420 and all-time leading point scorer with 987. The first overall pick in 1989 by the Nordiques was acquired in a blockbuster 1994 trade involving fan favorite Wendel Clark. Sundin is second in Toronto history (and first among skaters) in point shares, and leads the Leafs in power play goals and game- winning goals. The Swedish center played right wing in Quebec and he'll have to make room for more Leaf legends on this roster.

2nd Line

Left Wing - Charlie Conacher A four-time 30-goal scorer in the 1930s, Charlie Conacher led the NHL in goals five times in a six year span. The Hall of Famer won scoring titles in 1934 and 1935 and a Stanley Cup in 1932. His 200 goals for Toronto are 13th in team history despite playing in just 328 games. Conacher is listed as a right wing but the Leafs are loaded at that position. Hall of Famer Babe Dye (another right wing) deserves an honorable mention for scoring 175 goals in 177 games as a Leaf in the 1920s. However I'm very reluctant to consider any player with under 300 games played; under 200 is simply too small of a sample size.

Center - Doug Gilmour Did someone say "small sample size"? Doug Gilmour played just 393 games for the Leafs, the 69th-highest total in team history. In that brief time the Hall of Famer tallied 321 assists for Toronto, the ninth-most among Maple Leafs. "Killer" won the Selke trophy in 1993, after setting a single-season franchise record for points with 127 and leading Toronto to the first of two consecutive Western conference finals appearances. Only Babe Dye posted a higher points per game average for the Leafs than Gilmour's 1.15.

Right Wing - Rick Vaive The fifth overall pick in the 1979 draft, Rick Vaive notched three consecutive 50-goal seasons for Toronto from 1982 to 1984. The fifth-leading goal scorer in franchise history, Vaive trails only Sundin and Sittler on the Leafs' power play goal-scoring list and his 537 points are tenth in team annals. The WHA's leader in penalty minutes as a 19 year-old rookie is ninth in Maple Leafs' annals with 940 PIMs. 

3rd Line

Left Wing - Busher Jackson Conacher's linemate on the 1930s Maple Leafs, Busher Jackson posted five 20-goal seasons for the franchise in a six year span. The Hall of Fame left wing led the NHL with 53 points in Toronto's Stanley Cup winning 1932 season, and his 186 goals (in just 432 games) are tied for 15th in franchise history. Wendel Clark was strongly considered here, but the eighth-leading goal scorer in Maple Leafs history averaged fewer points per game in a higher-scoring era than Busher, and missed too many games due to injury.

Center - Dave Keon The Maple Leafs' all-time leader in short handed goals, Dave Keon won a Calder trophy, two Lady Byng trophies, a Conn Smythe trophy, and four Stanley Cups in his first seven seasons in the NHL. The Hall of Fame center is second on the Leafs' all-time list with 63 game-winning goals, third in total goals with 365, and third in points with 858. Keon's 493 assists and 1,062 games played are good for fourth in franchise annals.

Right Wing - George Armstrong No one wore the blue-and-white more than George Armstrong, who played in a franchise-leading 1,188 games - four more than Tim Horton. Toronto's captain from 1957 to 1969, Armstrong won four Stanley Cups in his Hall of Fame career. The Leafs' fifth-leading point producer and sixth-leading goal scorer passed away on Sunday at age 90.

4th Line

 

Left Wing - Bob Pulford A key member of Toronto's dynasty in the 1960s, Bob Pulford played more games for the Maple Leafs than all but six players. The first president of the NHL players' association, Pulford ranks eighth in Leafs' history with 563 points and 183 even-strength goals (two more than Wendel Clark). His 258 even-strength assists are seventh in franchise annals, and his 312 assists in all situations are the team's tenth-highest total.

Center -  Ted Kennedy The Maple Leafs' captain from 1948 to 1957, Ted Kennedy began his Hall of Fame career as a 17 year-old, the sixth-youngest player ever to play in an NHL game. A five-time Stanley Cup champion and three-time All-Star, "Teeder" won the Hart trophy as NHL MVP in 1955 - his final full season in the league. Kennedy ranks ninth in Toronto annals with 560 points and his 46.2 offensive point shares score is the sixth-highest among Maple Leaf forwards.

Right Wing - Ron Ellis The youngest regular on the 1967 Maple Leafs, Ron Ellis ranks fifth in team history with 1,034 games played from 1964 to 1981. A four-time All-Star, Ellis is tied with Dave Keon for the second-most even-strength goals among Maple Leafs and only three players in team history have registered more game-winning goals. The fourth-leading goal scorer in Toronto annals could have ranked even higher had he not retired for two years in the middle of his career.

 

Spares - Syl Apps, Phil Kessel 

The father of an all-time Pittsburgh Penguin, Syl Apps Sr. averaged a point a game over his Hall of Fame career. The Calder trophy winner in 1937 led the NHL in assists in each of his first two NHL seasons and finished second in Hart trophy voting three times. Phil Kessel posted two 37-goal seasons in his six years with the Leafs. Currently a Coyote, Kessel ranks 16th among Toronto forwards with 394 points - just 13 fewer than Gary Leeman in 99 fewer games. Hall of Famer Dick Duff was also considered.

Defense Pair 1

Borje Salming - Tim Horton

One of the first Swedish imports to star in the NHL, Borje Salming became a fixture on the Maple Leafs' blueline from his debut in 1973 to his departure in 1989. The Hall of Famer dished out 620 assists for the blue and white, the most in franchise history. A six-time All-Star, Salming finished second in Norris trophy voting twice, ranks second to Tim Horton in defensive point shares for the franchise and is just one 'plus' behind Horton on the team's plus/minus leader board. Horton is second in team history with 1,184 games played and third among all Maple Leafs in point shares. The four-time Stanley Cup winner and donut magnate was inducted into the Hall of Fame posthumously in 1977.

Defense Pair 2

Tomas Kaberle - Bob Baun

Tomas Kaberle is fifth in Maple Leafs history with 437 assists and second to Salming among Toronto defensemen with 520 points. The Czech blueliner is eighth in team annals with 80.6 point shares - split equally on offense and defense. A four-time All-Star and three-time Olympian, Kaberle won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. Bob Baun boasts the fourth-highest defensive point shares score in Leafs history, the fifth-highest plus/minus rating, and the seventh-most penalty minutes. A member of the Maple Leafs' four Stanley Cup championship squads in the '60s Baun is surprisingly not a Hall of Famer.

Defense Pair 3

Ian Turnbull - Allan Stanley

Ian Turnbull set career highs with 79 points and a +46 rating in 1976-77, earning his only All-Star game invite. The offensive-minded blueliner ranks fourth among Leaf defensemen (and 18th overall) with 414 points, and only eight players in franchise history recorded more assists on the power play. Allan Stanley earned enshrinement in the Hall of Fame with his stellar defensive play. The 21-year veteran ranks fifth in Toronto annals with 43.9 defensive point shares, sixth in plus/minus with a +122 rating, and played in eight Stanley Cup finals.

Spare - Red Horner

Without Wendel Clark, Tiger Williams, or Tie Domi on this roster the all-time Leafs are lacking a little toughness. So let's reach back to the 1930s and tap Red Horner - the sixth-leading penalty minute man in Toronto history. The Hall of Fame rearguard led the NHL in PIMs seven times, including five consecutive seasons from 1933 to 1937. A member of the 1932 Stanley Cup champs, Horner contributed 152 points in 490 career games - all with the blue and white. Carl Brewer and Jimmy Thomson were also considered.

Goalies

Starter - Turk Broda

Backup - Johnny Bower

Hall of Famer Turk Broda leads the franchise in wins, shutouts, minutes played, and point shares. A two-time Vezina trophy winner and five-time Stanley Cup champion, Broda led the league in goals against average in 1941 and 1948. Bower is Toronto's franchise leader in saves and his .922 save percentage ranks second to Jacques Plante, who played just three seasons with the Leafs. Bower won two Vezina trophies, four Stanley Cups, and led the league in save percentage six times in his Hall of Fame career.

Head Coach: Punch Imlach  Captain: George Armstrong

George "Punch" Imlach leads all Toronto head coaches in games coached and wins. He directed the team to four Stanley Cup victories and six finals appearances in eleven seasons behind the bench at Maple Leaf Gardens before being fired in 1969.

I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the Vancouver Canucks.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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