What will it take for Matthews to be the best Leaf ever?

[Perfect_Drug]

That is a very sad sad list of all-time greats for an Original 6 team.

You should feel bad about posting this on the Mains.

 

[um]

It's weird they would go back to include the 60s-era Leafs, but then stop there.

That's only 4 of the 13 cups.

 

[ACC1224]

Leafs fans have an embarrassing lack of knowledge about their rich history, on average, I must say.

Not to toot my own horn, but even your average Montreal fan is aware of who Howie Morenz and Aurèle Joliat are. It's not just about Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur.

Meanwhile I'm not entirely sure the Leaf fan on the street knows who Syl Apps Sr is.

OP isn't a Leaf fan. You question Leaf fans on the street to gauge their knowledge? That must garner some strange looks.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

He already is the greatest Leaf, which is pretty sad considering the team is over 100 years old lmfao

 

[BenchBrawl]

OP isn't a Leaf fan. You question Leaf fans on the street to gauge their knowledge? That must garner some strange looks.

It's obvious just spending time on Hfboards that Leafs fans, who fancy themselves living in the Mecca of Hockey, don't know shit about their team's history.

So it's even worse than your average joes on the street not knowing, it's fans spending their entire days on a Hockey forum, not knowing.

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

The thing that stands out to me is that that list f***ING SUCKS.

Surely this is the worst list of players from an original six team by a light year?

 

[RevengeOfTheDrai]

It's weird they would go back to include the 60s-era Leafs, but then stop there.

That's only 4 of the 13 cups.

Tim Horton, Apps, and Kennedy are 9,10 and 11 in that order according to that journalist. They just seem to prioritize achievements since the start of the Howe era.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

I don't think the Toronto part of Kelly's career is enough to put him in the range of the Apps, Keon, Kennedy at center. Kelly was primarily a great defenseman for Detroit, although he was also a strong center for TO.

Kelly to Mahovlich is Backstrom to (post-2010) Ovechkin

 

[BenchBrawl]

The thing that stands out to me is that that list f***ING SUCKS.

Surely this is the worst list of players from an original six team by a light year?

That's because the list is embarrassingly incomplete.

Toronto is a very deep team historically. All it lacks are mega superstars.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Leafs historically haven’t been built around flashy superstars but more a total team effort with a high level of physical play. Of course there were exceptions like Apps, Keon etc.
But historically they are kind of the opposite of the current core 4.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Kelly to Mahovlich is Backstrom to (post-2010) Ovechkin

Backstrom wouldn't compare to Apps, Kennedy and Keon in my book.

 

[Suntouchable13]

Don't care about regular season accolades. He wouldn't be the best in my eyes, unless he leads the Leafs to the cup. Maybe unfair, but he is supposed to be a leader and an elite player that can carry a team.

 

[Fatass]

Win.

This ^^^
I think we say Matthews is in the conversation as the best regular season Leaf. He’s Got to lead the Leafs to the Cup to be in the conversation as the best Leaf.

 

[blankall]

At least one cup...probably multiples.

 

[AvroArrow]

He already is the greatest Leaf, which is pretty sad considering the team is over 100 years old lmfao

Skater Records - Highest Goals Per Game, Career (Minimum: 200 Goals) | NHL Records

Explore the records for Skater Records, Highest Goals Per Game, Career (Minimum: 200 Goals)

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Yeah so sad, he's only 5th overall all time in goals per game, while playing in a significantly lower goal scoring era

His pace to date is ahead of Ovechkins. Would be insane if he had the longevity OV does, but pretty bad post here bud

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Skater Records - Highest Goals Per Game, Career (Minimum: 200 Goals) | NHL Records

Explore the records for Skater Records, Highest Goals Per Game, Career (Minimum: 200 Goals)

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Yeah so sad, he's only 5th overall all time in goals per game, while playing in a significantly lower goal scoring era

His pace to date is ahead of Ovechkins. Would be insane if he had the longevity OV does, but pretty bad post here bud

Idk why you guys care about regular season stats so much when he’s a turd in the playoffs

Also I am just hating as you know

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Another contract after this and I think he's guaranteed to be the greatest Leaf.

Cup or no cup.

 

[um]

Leafs fans have an embarrassing lack of knowledge about their rich history, on average, I must say.

Not to toot my own horn, but even your average Montreal fan is aware of who Howie Morenz and Aurèle Joliat are. It's not just about Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur.

Meanwhile I'm not entirely sure the Leaf fan on the street knows who Syl Apps Sr is.

It is odd.

You'd figure they need to remember their winning years to feel good. Even those 1960s teams aren't that celebrated.

 

[RevengeOfTheDrai]

The thing that stands out to me is that that list f***ING SUCKS.

Surely this is the worst list of players from an original six team by a light year?

That’s very surprising to me. Toronto has always been one of the wealthiest places in Canada. You’d think they’d be able outright buy superstars before the cap era, apparently not…

 

[Summer Rose]

That’s very surprising to me. Toronto has always been one of the wealthiest places in Canada. You’d think they’d be able outright buy superstars before the cap era, apparently not…

I'll admit I'm not as well versed in it as I could be, but while it is safe to say they could have bought superstars before the cap era (which is what people like to accuse the Rangers of having done, and that didn't work out for them so well - although they did win a cup), it was simply Harold Ballard's MO to choose not to.

Someone upthread put in an example of the possibility of signing Gretzky as a UFA, and that Ballard's response was to say that they were going to sell out the arena anyway without him, so they didn't need Gretzky. Ballard was the epitome of an owner who cared more about making money than winning. While they tend to correlate with each other, that wasn't (and still isn't) the case in Toronto - they'd sell out the arena (at their exorbitant prices to boot) even if the team finished dead last.

 

[NVious]

A cup, he's probably not even top 5 as far as actual fans of the team go.

Most talented for sure, but did nothing with it.

Come playoff time he has literally been outscored by Clark/Sittler/Sundin/Gilmour.

 

[um]

That’s very surprising to me. Toronto has always been one of the wealthiest places in Canada. You’d think they’d be able outright buy superstars before the cap era, apparently not…

I think the definition/standard of a superstar changes the further away in time you get.

There are what 5-10 superstars today? I'm sure that number varies person by person.

Most people can't name 5-10 superstars from the 50s, just the top 2-3 guys. Such Howe, Richard and maybe Beliveau. Leafs had those 5-10 guys that are forgotten.

 

[tabness]

giving up the modeling deal and focusing on hockey should get him there

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

There's nothing he can feasibly do. If he was going to be the greatest he would've shown it by now.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

That’s very surprising to me. Toronto has always been one of the wealthiest places in Canada. You’d think they’d be able outright buy superstars before the cap era, apparently not…

They tried to do this but it didn’t work