No. 2 – Tomas Kaberle
Coming in at a very close 2nd place is Tomas Kaberle. The Czech defenseman spent 12 years-and 878 games-in a Leafs uniform, scoring 83 goals and 520 points, which places him 2nd all time in Leafs franchise history for defensive scoring (Quant Hockey).
Known for his slick skating and excellent passing, Kaberle finished top-20 in Norris voting four times throughout his career in Toronto.
Moreover, Kaberle was one of the strongest players the Leafs had in terms of analytics, which was shown when advanced stats were officially tracked in 2007-08.
From 2007-2011, Kaberle averaged an impressive 52.7 CF% and a slightly unlucky 98.2 PDO rating with Toronto. We can only track data from the last half of Kaberle’s career, and it’s extremely impressive. Were the numbers from his best years available, no doubt he’d be held in even higher regard than he already is.
The Leafs missed the playoffs during this entire timeframe, so, it is not unreasonable to expect that Kaberle was even better during the Leafs better years. Additionally, Kaberle had eight seasons of 40 or more points, including an amazing 58-assist 67-point season in 2005-06 (Hockey Reference).
As mentioned, he is the second leading scorer (among defensemen) in franchise history – but he did it by playing the majority of his career in the Dead Puck Era, where scoring was low.
He is a borderline hall of famer who should at least garner more consideration that he has so far.
Kaberle’s sheer dominance as a Maple Leaf is simply unmatched by any modern Leafs defender, and should not be discounted.