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Who is the greatest Captain in Leafs history?

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No love for 50 goal guy Ricky Vaive?

I would have 2 answers.
Greatest captain for his Leafs career.
And greatest captain at any given time. Short tenured.

Greatest Leaf captain of all time for me goes to Sittler
Greatest Leaf captain for any given season was Doug Gilmour. He put that team on his back. A real beauty.
 
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Coaches told the team before OT that the goalie is being super aggressive. If you get the chance fake the shot and you will have him out of position. That was exactly what happened with Sittler's goal..
 
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Dave Keon

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Career stats: 1296 GP, 396 G, 590 A, 986 P
Achievements: Stanley Cup champion :stanley: (4) in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967
Awards: Calder Memorial Trophy (1960-61) & Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1961-62 & 1962-63) & Conn Smythe Trophy (1966-67) & and Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 1986.

Ted "Teeder" Kennedy

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Career stats: 696 GP, 231 G, 329 A, 560 P
Achievements: Stanley Cup champion :stanley: (5) in 1944-45, 1946-47. 1947-48, 1948-49, and 1950-51
Awards: Hart Memorial Trophy: 1954-55, Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966

Syl Apps

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NHL Totals: 423 GP 201 G 231 A 432 PTS
Achievements: Stanley Cups :stanley: (3) : 1941-42, 1946-47, 1947-48
Awards: Calder Memorial Trophy (1936-37) & Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1941-42) & Hockey Hall of Fame 1961
 
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Sundin for me.

He was captain of a team that was rarely ever great, playing with guys that were rarely ever at his elite level. He also captained at a time when many fans didn't really accept him, and the media relationship with the team at times became quite contentious and prickly - yet he never ever seemed to let those things bother him.

I remember during the Muskoka 5 season, when everyone wanted to know whether they would stay or go - Sundin often standing around and answering more media questions than he was required too; there was a clip of him basically telling the Leafs media secretary that it was Ok for him to take more questions, for a good 4 or 5 minutes before that trade deadline. That always stands out to me when thinking about Sundin. Not just a great player, but someone who understood his importance to the market and this team to it's fans.
 
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Stephen said:
Matthews isn't even the captain...

The Leafs weren't very good by the time Gilmour got the captaincy. We won zero playoff rounds with him in 2.5 years and he demanded a trade out of town.
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I suppose on the Gilmour part, I mean he was the leader even before he actually got the C but what you say is true.

As for Matthews, I literally picture him as the captain even though I have a Tavares jersey hanging on the wall behind me... I'd say its been a long week but I guess that won't fly.
 
Mess said:
Dave Keon

images


Career stats: 1296 GP, 396 G, 590 A, 986 P
Achievements: Stanley Cup champion :stanley: (4) in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967
Awards: Calder Memorial Trophy (1960-61) & Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1961-62 & 1962-63) & Conn Smythe Trophy (1966-67) & and Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 1986.

Ted "Teeder" Kennedy

images


Career stats: 696 GP, 231 G, 329 A, 560 P
Achievements: Stanley Cup champion :stanley: (5) in 1944-45, 1946-47. 1947-48, 1948-49, and 1950-51
Awards: Hart Memorial Trophy: 1954-55, Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966

Syl Apps

images


NHL Totals: 423 GP 201 G 231 A 432 PTS
Achievements: Stanley Cups :stanley: (3) : 1941-42, 1946-47, 1947-48
Awards: Calder Memorial Trophy (1936-37) & Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1941-42) & Hockey Hall of Fame 1961
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The only problem with this is that, when we won four cups in the 60s, Keon wasn't the captain: George Armstrong was.

So with that corrected, I agree: three best captains were Armstrong, Kennedy, and Apps.
 
Jamason said:
The only problem with this is that, when we won four cups in the 60s, Keon wasn't the captain: George Armstrong was.

So with that corrected, I agree: three best captains were Armstrong, Kennedy, and Apps.
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Davey Keon is considered by many experts or hockey professionals as the best Leaf of all time, and since he was a Leafs captain that would then by extension make him one of Leafs best. :)

Greatest Leaf, greatest captain ...tomato, tomato

PS. You're right "The Chief" wore the C, but Keon won the Conn Smythe.

Davey Keon is also my favourite Leaf of all time. so I am biased in that regard. :wg:
 
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So, what are we looking for?
  • The greatest player (full career) to wear the C?
  • The greatest player (Leafs tenure) to wear the C?
  • The greatest player during their time as Leafs captain?
  • The Leafs captain with the greatest performance by the Leafs (full Leafs tenure)?
  • The Leafs captain with the greatest performance by the Leafs during their time as C?
 
Mess said:
Davey Keon is considered by many experts or hockey professionals as the best Leaf of all time, and since he was a Leafs captain that would then by extension make him one of Leafs best. :)

Greatest Leaf, greatest captain ...tomato, tomato

PS. You're right "The Chief" wore the C, but Keon won the Conn Smythe.

Davey Keon is also my favourite Leaf of all time. so I am biased in that regard. :wg:
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I don't think the two are the same at all.

A perfect example is Gordie Howe. He was captain of the Red Wings for only four seasons, and in that time they won only one playoff series, and failed to make the postseason twice. But there are some people who still believe he was a good player.
 
Keon. Just consider who he followed, a very strong, spoken leader in Armstrong. He let his play on the ice lead.

Clark. The honey badger of hockey who willed his team too many times to count. He provided fans a reason to watch, at the time, a dismal franchise.
 
I started following NHL in 95 and im from Sweden, so a bit biased, but since then; Sundin . He is actually the reason i started cheering for the leafs.
 
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Teeder da only true #1 and da reason why his statue went up 1st in Legends Row ... my dad said he carried team ... he remembers vividly when team was down and not playing well there was 1 fan at Gardens who would stand up in golds with grey cap and scream "Common Teeder" and invariably da crowd would incite and Teeder made it happen almost instantly thereafter ... my dad says it was almost like a light switch and everyone waited for it ... da guy would only do it when Leafs were down and not playing well ... curious if anyone knows who this guy was?
 
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George Armstrong.

He played 1,188 NHL games between 1950 and 1971, all with Toronto and a franchise record, and was the team's captain for 13 seasons. Armstrong was a member of four Stanley Cup championship teams and played in seven NHL All-Star Games.
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sorry, Wendyl and Matts fans but they didn't get it done... and were here just for a cup of coffee compared to Armstrong.
 
This is coming from an opponent but when I think of a Leaf captain George Armstrong is the first one to come to mind. “The Chief” captained the greatest Leaf teams ever.
 
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Before my time Apps/Kennedy, Sitter... Out of what I saw probably Sundin considering who he had for linemates most the time. Can only say short time of Roberts with Mogilny was the best he had.
 
There seem to be three groups:

-people who look at the overall history tend to pick Apps, Kennedy, or Armstrong

-people who look at only players they've seen, and are old enough to remember the 60s, tend to pick Armstrong or Keon

-younger people who look at only players they've seen tend to pick Sittler, Gilmour, Clark, or Sundin.

Assuming you pick an actual Leaf captain, the only wrong answer is Phaneuf.
 
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