Who Are Your Top 10 Leafs Of All Time?

[PromisedLand]

Ranking not necessarily in order

1. Sundin
2. Keon
3. Wendel
4. Gilmour
5. Salming
6. Sittler
7. Cujo
8. Matthews
9. Marner
10. Nylander/Rielly

The 3 amigos and Mo are gonna be on that list when its all said and done for sure.

 

[Gilmour1996]

Pat Burns (coach)
Dougie
Sundin
Sittler
Auston
Cujo
Salming
Clark
Tie Domi (as a tough guy only)
Tiger Williams/Darcy Tucker (tie)

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

1. Matthews - I've never enjoyed watching another Leafs player as much as I enjoy watching him

2. Sundin - the captain for the bulk of my romance with the Leafs during my younger years

3. Rielly - my favourite Leafs defenseman of all time

4. Ellett - it must have been so frustrating for him playing with No Skill Todd Gill for all those years

5. Belak - my favourite Leafs heavyweight of all time

6. Clark - obviously

7. Salming - I don't have many memories of him, but he holds the distinction of being the FIRST Leafs player I can ever remember watching on tv. I was like three and Salming saved a puck on the empty net with the goalie pulled. He was a hero to me.

8. Belfour - because there needs to be a goalie and Cujo tarnished his memory with his horrible play the second time he was here.

8. Nylander - Not because of his play but because of the hours of entertainment he provides me off ice

9. Pat Quinn - every coach and, with one exception, every GM have been nothing but crap since

10. Lou - The only good GM, other than Quinn, this team has employed for my entire life.

 

[Zybalto]

I don't anything will ever come close to the feeling I got when a young Wendel Clark stepped on the ice. One of those players that was just electric and you could feel the energy change in the air and the whole world seemed to just be waiting for him to come back between shifts.

Its just too bad his style of play wrecked his body and he was a shell of his former self by 27.

 

[studebaker17]

Pat Burns (coach) Fav coach of all time . never seen a leafs coach control the bench as well

Dougie For 2 and a bit seasons he was easlily the most dominant player the Leafs ever had imo. He controlled every shift he took both offensively and defensively . Took a pretty average team places they didn't belong. To bad he wasn't a Leaf for more of his career. After the 94 playoffs he was never the same .

Sundin - Very consistant player that never had the best of teams behind him . Most talent he got to play with were all at the tail end of their careers .

Sittler- my childhood hero. i was devestated when he was traded

Auston -No doubt will end up being the greatest of them all but for me still holds an asterisk until he can dominate games in the playoffs .

Cujo Belfour was the better goalie but Cujo was so highlight exciting

Salming Easily best Leafs defensman in my life time . Always just outside Norris caliber . Honorable mention to Iafrate .

Clark Easily my favorite . There's never been a player who could bring fans out of their seats like he could . Especially the early years.

Tie Domi (as a tough guy only)
Tiger Williams/Darcy Tucker (tie) I'd group Markov and Yushevich in with these guys . Wouldn't say on the conversation of greatest Leafs but heart and sole guys who brought it .

Your list is pretty close to mine

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

1. Matthews - I've never enjoyed watching another Leafs player as much as I enjoy watching him

2. Sundin - the captain for the bulk of my romance with the Leafs during my younger years

3. Rielly - my favourite Leafs defenseman of all time

4. Ellett - it must have been so frustrating for him playing with No Skill Todd Gill for all those years

5. Belak - my favourite Leafs heavyweight of all time

6. Clark - obviously

7. Salming - I don't have many memories of him, but he holds the distinction of being the FIRST Leafs player I can ever remember watching on tv. I was like three and Salming saved a puck on the empty net with the goalie pulled. He was a hero to me.

8. Belfour - because there needs to be a goalie and Cujo tarnished his memory with his horrible play the second time he was here.

8. Nylander - Not because of his play but because of the hours of entertainment he provides me off ice

9. Pat Quinn - every coach and, with one exception, every GM have been nothing but crap since

10. Lou - The only good GM, other than Quinn, this team has employed for my entire life.

Which season highlight video will be better, this one


Or the one for this season, which hasn't been made yet?

 

[frizzer1]

All time best leafs?
Well, Keon was a great 2way player but the Big M was the superstar of that team.

 

[Craig Button]

A lot of Leafs fans would say that you soiled the entire list by adding Tavares.

It’s better than adding Clark that’s for sure.

 

[Craig Button]

I don't anything will ever come close to the feeling I got when a young Wendel Clark stepped on the ice. One of those players that was just electric and you could feel the energy change in the air and the whole world seemed to just be waiting for him to come back between shifts.

Its just too bad his style of play wrecked his body and he was a shell of his former self by 27.

His best season was when he was 27. He was a shell of his former self at age 20. Then Gilmour rejuvenated his career during th3 playoffs in 93. That was followed by his career year. The fat lady sang after that

 

[notDatsyuk]

Boo this man!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Actually I don't find the dislike of Sundin as surprising (although how extreme is quite disturbing) as including Keon, Sawchuk, Bower, Armstrong, and Mahovolic, but not Horton.

 

[Ciao]

Matthews
Sundin
Salming
Mahovlich
Sittler
Keon
Horton
Bower
Kennedy
Clark

Probably some better players I've missed.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

Which season highlight video will be better, this one


Or the one for this season, which hasn't been made yet?

I'll watch them both and be equally entertained.

Nothing I like better than watching Matthews score a goal. Next year is Sundin's record. After that it's either OV or Gretzky.

Everyone else in between doesn't matter.

 

[Goose]

Top 10 greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time​

1. Dave Keon: Winner of four Stanley Cups, Keon could be the best player on the ice and the key to winning even when he didn’t score.

2. Syl Apps: He retired at 33, but Apps left an indelible mark on the franchise and the team’s trophy case. He won the first-ever Calder Trophy in 1937.

3. Charlie Conacher: He was big, he was fast, he put the puck in the net for the Blue and White. Conacher led the league in scoring twice and in goals five times.

4. Teeder Kennedy: Never the most skilled player, Kennedy worked harder than anyone on the ice and raised the play of his teammates through sheer determination.

5. Johnny Bower: Bower didn’t suit up between the pipes for the Leafs until he was 33, but became a star as soon as he did. He eventually played the second-most minutes of anyone in team history.

6. Frank Mahovlich: The highest-scoring left winger the franchise has ever seen, he nearly became the second 50-goal scorer in NHL history with 48 markers in 1960-61.

7. Tim Horton: Before his name became synonymous with coffee, the blue-liner was selected to six post-season All-Star teams in his 20 seasons with the Leafs.

8. Borje Salming: The Swede was a prototypical two-way defenceman, giving as good as he got to both ends of the ice and expanding the fans’ idea of what European players could bring to the NHL.

9. Darryl Sittler: Sidney Crosby’s nickname is “Darryl,” after Sittler. That’s really all you need to know.

10. Doug Gilmour: Played only seven seasons in Toronto, but in his first with the team in 1991-92, he put up 127 points on 32 goals and 95 assists – the best season by any Leaf ever

It's your list so there's no right or wrong, but it feels very weird to see a list that leaves the top goal scorer, point getter, and decade-long captain off of a list of greatest Leafs.

 

[Goose]

Do people actually intentionally omit the only player in franchise history with a 60 goal season, of which he has 2, who is only 1 of like 9 NHL players in history to have multiple, Hart Trophy, 3 time Rocket Richard, Ted Lindsay (Pearson)?

Depends on how you define greatest, and if you treat current players as if they left the team today and only judged them by accomplishments to date.

Some people value championships above all else, so they'll value a mid-tier player who wins a bunch of cups in a six-team league over a guy like Matthews. To each their own.

 

[notDatsyuk]

I've always wondered about the "only a six-team league" argument. If you're the best, does it really matter whether there are five or thirty-one or ten thousand behind you? Isn't an 'average' player on a six-team league still one of the 120 best? In theory at least, the 120th best player in a six-team league should be the fourth or fifth best player on a team in a 32-team league. There has been an influx of European and American players, but there are 640 skaters where there used to be 120.

 

[MK78]

These guys are the ones that I've seen play when i started paying attention to hockey to remember who was who.

Matthews
Sundin
Gilmour
Clark
Roberts
Tucker
Kaberle
Cujo
Domi (Tie)
Tavares

 

[TMLegend]

1. Sundin
2. Matthews
3. Kaberle
4. Rielly
5. Nylander
6. Kadri
7. Marner
8. CuJo
9. Phaneuf
10. Tavares

HM: Andersen, Kessel, Belfour, Roberts, Domi, Tucker, McCabe

Based my rankings on a combination of on ice ability and my personal likability of them. Also placed a preference on homegrown players or long tenured players. I didn't rank any players I didn't see play or players who were only here for a cup of coffee like Francis and Leetch. Being in my early 30's I never got the chance to see legends like Clark or Gilmour play.

 

[Sypher04]

I've always wondered about the "only a six-team league" argument. If you're the best, does it really matter whether there are five or thirty-one or ten thousand behind you? Isn't an 'average' player on a six-team league still one of the 120 best? In theory at least, the 120th best player in a six-team league should be the fourth or fifth best player on a team in a 32-team league. There has been an influx of European and American players, but there are 640 skaters where there used to be 120.

I think the bringing up of ‘6 team league’ is less about the number or quality of players and more just about just identifying the era being compared against.

One major thing about that time period though would be that it only required 2 rounds to win the cup.

Definitely not going to ever claim cups were easy to win in the 6 team league, but I do firmly believe it’s harder to win now than ever.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Pat Burns (coach)
Dougie
Sundin
Sittler
Auston
Cujo
Salming
Clark
Tie Domi (as a tough guy only)
Tiger Williams/Darcy Tucker (tie)

I forgot all about coaches or I would have put him on my honorable mention list for sure! Great coach!!

 

[garce]

Only going with guys I saw play.
1. Salming the punishment he took and persevered through was unparalleled unbelievably tough and talented one of the very best defenceman ever.
2.Matthews
3.Sundin
4.Sittler
5.Keon
6.Horton
7. Clark, the lift he gave the fan base was amazing
8.Bower
9. Gilmour would be much higher tenure just too short
10. McDonald same as Gilmour I can still remember the cold winter night I heard that trade on the radio F*** Harold Ballard and F*** Punch Imlach.

HM Armstrong, Turnbull, Yeskevich, Cujo, Mahovlich, Belfour, Ellis,Domi, Williams Vaive, Derlago,

 

[notDatsyuk]

I think the bringing up of ‘6 team league’ is less about the number or quality of players and more just about just identifying the era being compared against.

One major thing about that time period though would be that it only required 2 rounds to win the cup.

Definitely not going to ever claim cups were easy to win in the 6 team league, but I do firmly believe it’s harder to win now than ever.

Quite right - with only two rounds you are only playing against two of the three best teams - no easy matchups (that really only happened the first few years of expansion, when the final pitted an O6 team against one of the expansion teams).

With 82 regular season games and four rounds of playoffs compared to 70 games and two rounds, it has become more of an endurance/attrition test than pure skill.

I think the biggest thing making the Cup harder to win is the cap, which punishes success.

 

[Frostitute]

My favs, not "the best". I will fight you though.

1 - Doug Gilmour
2 - Borje Salming
3 - Darryl Sittler
4 - Johnny Bower
5 - Felix The Cat
6 - Cujo
7 - Tim Horton
8 - Gary Roberts
9 - Mats Sundin
10 - Darcy Tucker

Honorable Mention

Eddie The Eagle (Probably deserves to be on the list somewhere but liquor is strong and I am weak. He knows what I'm talking about.)

Dmitri Yushkevich - What a player. Someone I just loved to watch whose stats don't do him justice.

Tomas Kaberle - Not sure I yelled "SHOOOOOT" at my tv more than when he had the puck. Max Domi must have idolized him growing up.

Wendel Clark - Always injured, always put on the knife shoes anyways. The guy hit and scored and fought and had a mustache I envy to this day. I'm sure he'd have sold his soul to a crossroads demon if it ment a cup for the blue and white.

Honestly, a list of 10 just isn't fair. I can think of 10 more who deserve to be on this list while bleeding out after a hit and run. We have the second most cups for a reason.

LEGENDARY. FRANCHISE.

 

[Ports]

Sundin is overrated. He was the best offensive player on Leaf teams without much offensive talent but a lot of grit. If he played with more heart he’d have been a top scorer in the league and won some hardware. Great person but never realized his potential.

 

[Squiffy]

Okay. Okay. Guys I saw play right? Daniel Marios was my first favourite Leaf player, Gretz was big, there's my parameters. Early 80's as a kid. Not a ranking of best Leafs ever, because Syl Apps isn't a part of this. No one need to tell me that Matthews is better than Clark, I know he is. By heart, not brain. OK.

#1 - Wendel Clark: Because you are only young once, and just a dynamic player in a pile of crap that was the Leafs, he was the first one I remember that was worth watching every night to see what would happen.

#2 - Dougie Gilmour: Again I show my age. The fire he played with, and the relative success with him, it was a time that the Leafs had never touched in my life at that point, it was electric.

#3 - AM: So special to watch. If you ask me 20 years from now I'd bet anything he's #1. Hasn't yet overcome the childhood bias, but I do expect he will.

#4 - It's Mats: Picture of consistency, so good so long.

#5/ #6 - Potvin or Cujo? Great runs with both, I can't not mention them. Belfour was great too, but he never really felt like a "Leaf", right?

#7 - Brian McCabe: Long time posters will know me as a big fan of McCabe. He had a fantastic 5-ish year run as one of the elite D in the league. Crimanlly underrated.

#8 - I can't not mention Darcy Tucker. Fire directed in to a nuclear reactor that than melted down.

#9 - I am not going any further with out Dmitiri Yushkevich, and I am happy to see him on a couple of other lists on this thread. Straight up, might be the best defensive D I have ever seen. 100% the best Leaf defensive D I've seen.

#10 - Its Marner. He's magic.

 

[TopCheeseShotta]

My favourite Team is the Leafs - ain't no Favourite Players..

1. Anybody
2. Who
3. Wears
4. The
5. Sweater
6. Is
7. Second
8. To
9. The
10. Crest

Buuuttt........... hahaaaaaaa

1. Wendel - Heart and Soul
2. Dougie - Same w/out the fists
3. Keon - the man, myth, legend
4. Bower - Courage, Class, Cups
5. Mats - could 'will' the puck in
6. Matthews - get us there, papi!
7. Salming - Trailblazing God
8. Sittler - He was the 70s
9. Vaive - The 54 before AM34
10. Broda - loyal, 5 cups, 15 yrs!

HM: Horton, Mahovlich, Kennedy, Apps, Cujo, Willy, Mitch, Conacher, The Chief and Red Kelly.