Editor In Leaf
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JVR Scores Toronto Maple Leafs 20,000th Goal

By James Tanner

TORONTO, ON- NOVEMBER 10 - Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) celebrates with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner (51), Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri (43) and Toronto Maple Leafs center Mitchell Marner (16) after tying the game in the last minute as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime at BMO Field in Toronto. November 10, 2017. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON- NOVEMBER 10 - Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) celebrates with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner (51), Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri (43) and Toronto Maple Leafs center Mitchell Marner (16) after tying the game in the last minute as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 in overtime at BMO Field in Toronto. November 10, 2017. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have scored some goals in their history.

Twenty-Thousand of them, actually.  Well, I’m a little late with this post, so to be precise, the number of goals the Toronto Maple Leafs have scored is 20,007.

On Tuesday, the Leafs played a rare 2:00 pm weekday matinée against the Carolina Hurricanes.  The reason for the insane start time was that exactly 100 years ago, to the day, at 2:00 pm, the Leafs played their first game.

Back then, the Leafs were called by the more grammatically acceptable Toronto Arenas nickname.  They lost 10-9 to the Montreal Wanderers (a team composed entirely of hobos) in what I am reasonably sure was the NHL’s first game.

The Leafs were known as the Arenas for two years, then the St. Pats.  It wasn’t until 1927 when they were called the Leafs.

JVR 20K

The 20 000th goal in Leafs history was scored by James van Riemsdyk. The first was scored by some dude named Reg Noble.  Reg was from Collingwood and not only did he score the Leafs first goal, but he scored 30 goals in 20 games back in that inaugural season.  I don’t know if they had goalies back then or what, but that is a crapload of goals!

19 999 goals after Reg Noble scored the first, JVR scored the 20 000th.

20K goals is a ton, and 100 years is a long time.  It’s crazy to think the league’s been around for that long.  What’s even crazier is that the last time the Leafs won the Cup, they were only 50 year old.  Time flies when you suck, or so the saying goes.

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But, the lean years (decades) aside, the Leafs now have an incredible team. So incredible that JVR – who is a legit NHL star – is either the fourth or fifth best forward on the team, depending who you think is better between him and Kadri.   That’s some insane depth.

JVR is a pending free-agent and I’m hoping the Leafs re-sign him. I know he’d have to leave a ton of money on the table for that to happen, but when you think about it, what’s a few million to a guy who’s already a multi-millionaire?

If they can’t re-sign him, here is hoping they at least keep him until the season ends and let him walk, rather than trading him just to get something back.  What JVR will provide for the rest of this season far outweighs whatever return he’d get you.  (I assume).

Next: Marner Takes Massive Step Towards Super-Stardom

Anyways, it was a great goal, and it’s great that the Leafs are such a historic team. 100 years from now, the Leafs will have signed free-agent Jaromir Jagr, who by that point will be mostly a cyborg, and it will be the 146 year old Jagr who scores the teams’ 40,000th goal.

thanks for reading.

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