Leafs All-Time Team Vote: Third Line Left Wing

[Jimmy Firecracker]

With the Leafs Centennial Season coming up, I think it'd be interesting to see who Leafs fans would vote for when creating an All-Time team. After 100 years and 1000's of players, many greats have donned the blue and white and represented the city of Toronto. Who makes the cut and who doesn't when it comes to creating a team of the greatest Leafs ever?

Rules:

1. Players must have played a minimum of three seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

2. Players must be voted on for their respective positions, so the polls will only feature players in their natural positions (defensemen exempt, fretting over left D vs right D is a bit much).

3. Consider what these players did in their time as Leafs. The rest of their career doesn't matter.

Current options for Leafs All-Time #3 LW:

Dave Andreychuk

Dick Duff

Busher Jackson

Bert Olmstead

Bob Pulford

Gary Roberts

Sweeney Schriner

Sid Smith

Stumpy Thomas

Errol Thompson


(If you have any player suggestions, just let me know in a post).

Current All-Time Roster:

Mahovlich-Sundin-Conacher
Clark-Gilmour-Armstrong
(#3LW)-Sittler-McDonald
(#4LW)-(#4C)-(#4RW)

Salming-Horton
Clancy-Day
(#5D)-(#6D)

Bower
Broda

Click to read more...

 

[Lauro]

Harvey "Busher" Jackson!

 

[JonnyMacAwesome]

I went with Andreychuk... mostly because I did not see Roberts.

Oh well, either of those 2 would be my choice.

 

[67Cup]

Busher Jackson

Just a reminder to those unfamiliar with the history of the franchise:
Jackson was the youngest scoring champion in NHL history until Wayne Gretzky came along.
A Stanley Cup winner
Four times first all star team
Once second all star team
LW on the most famous line in Leafs' history, the Kid Line.

 

[Leaf Lander]

Busher Jackson

 

[crump]

Jackson was a rocket that burned brightly. Like many stories from the 30's and 40's, his was a sad story. Talent to burn, he did just that, sadly degenerating into a wife beating alcoholic. Still, we are discussing his talents on the ice, and despite a darkness surrounding him, he deserves this spot.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/24-7/greatest-maple-leafs-no-15-busher-jackson/

 

[socko]

Reg Noble. I just want to vote for some geezer that out-geezers the other geezers so I can complain that they didn't do enough research.

 

[Leaf Lander]

After Jackson noble would be a fantastuc pick

 

[kilgore111]

I picked Busher Jackson but have never seen him play. It is based on what I have read and imagined etc.

I was close to picking Errol Thompson, he had speed and a good shot and IMO should get more attention than he does

 

[Dreakmur]

Reg Noble. I just want to vote for some geezer that out-geezers the other geezers so I can complain that they didn't do enough research.

Noble is better than Clark. You should have done this last round.....

 

[67Cup]

Agreed re Noble. The star of the first Stanley Cup of the franchise should certainly be considered very seriously. He is a Hall of Famer. Some of the players being considered in these polls wouldn't get near the Hall without paying admission!

 

[Dreakmur]

Some of the players being considered in these polls wouldn't get near the Hall without paying admission!

Like Wendel Clark....

 

[crump]

I picked Busher Jackson but have never seen him play. It is based on what I have read and imagined etc.

I was close to picking Errol Thompson, he had speed and a good shot and IMO should get more attention than he does

Lol..Errol "Spud" Thompson. Loved that guy. He was the left winger for Sittler and McDonald too (fellow third liners in this poll) lol But not deserving of this imo.

No love for Tim Ecclestone?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Agreed re Noble. The star of the first Stanley Cup of the franchise should certainly be considered very seriously. He is a Hall of Famer. Some of the players being considered in these polls wouldn't get near the Hall without paying admission!

He slipped my mind. I thought of him yesterday but I was in a rush to get the poll out today.

 

[deletethis]

One thing to keep in mind is that the NHL before 1930 was a very different game. Forward passes were restricted until 1929 and line offsides didn't come until 1930.

 

[Dreakmur]

One thing to keep in mind is that the NHL before 1930 was a very different game. Forward passes were restricted until 1929 and line offsides didn't come until 1930.

There have been many, many rule changes over the years that have impacted the game. I think you'll have a very difficult time drawing a line in one specific point in time, and declaring that the start of "modern" hockey.

 

[deletethis]

There have been many, many rule changes over the years that have impacted the game. I think you'll have a very difficult time drawing a line in one specific point in time, and declaring that the start of "modern" hockey.

League scoring doubled the year they allowed forward passing (1929-30). It went from 2.9 goals per game to 5.9 goals per game. I'd say that's the biggest single rule change in NHL history.

 

[Dreakmur]

League scoring doubled the year they allowed forward passing (1929-30). It went from 2.9 goals per game to 5.9 goals per game. I'd say that's the biggest single rule change in NHL history.

There's a lot more to the game than just counting goals per game. That change had the biggest impact on scoring.

They didn't anticipate the amount of cherry-picking that would go on. Boston took full advantage of these rules, and the other teams followed suit. The next season, they implemented an off-side rule, and scoring dipped back down.

How much did league-wide scoring rise after the obstruction rules coming out of the 2005 lock-out?

 

[deletethis]

There's a lot more to the game than just counting goals per game. That change had the biggest impact on scoring.

They didn't anticipate the amount of cherry-picking that would go on. Boston took full advantage of these rules, and the other teams followed suit. The next season, they implemented an off-side rule, and scoring dipped back down.

How much did league-wide scoring rise after the obstruction rules coming out of the 2005 lock-out?

5.15 g/game to 6.17 g/game (20% increase in scoring) from 2003-04 to 2005-06 compared to an increase of 103% from 1928-29 to 1929-30. The increase from 1928-29 to 1930-31 was 54%.

Unrelated but interesting: the net increase from 2003-04 to 2015-16 is down to 5.2%!

 

[67Cup]

He slipped my mind. I thought of him yesterday but I was in a rush to get the poll out today.

Not to worry! As one interested in the history of the Leafs, I'm grateful for your work in setting up the polls. It's a good opportunity to discuss the history of our favourite team. Actually, I wasn't even thinking first of the names in the polls themselves, but rather in some of the suggestions posters added, apparently seriously!

 

[Mess]

(#3LW)-Sittler-McDonald

Tiger Williams or Errol Thompson would fit best on that LW as they once did.

 

[Lauro]

(#3LW)-Sittler-McDonald

Tiger Williams or Errol Thompson would fit best on that LW as they once did.

In what should end up as the 6th line.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Would love to vote for my all-time favorite Leaf, Gary Roberts, but I'm not old enough to really size him up against the competition here.

 

[LV*]

Noble is better than Clark. You should have done this last round.....

This. Wendel Clark shouldnt be on the all time team, tbh I don't even think he deserves to have his number honoured it just happened because he was a fan favourite.

 

[Joey Hoser]

This. Wendel Clark shouldnt be on the all time team, tbh I don't even think he deserves to have his number honoured it just happened because he was a fan favourite.

The whole concept of retiring numbers is sentimental. Of course fan favorites(on Clark's level anyway) should be honored.

That's the whole point.