Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 10 Meaningful Goals of the Decade

This past decade for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Not that great.

While the first half of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ decade was riddled with incomptent management, disappointing season after disappointing season, and a revolving door of coaches, they seemingly began to figure it out following the 2014-15 season.

Now, a couple of top ten draft picks, free agent signings and trades later, the Leafs have, at the very least, built a playoff team. And while the new-look Maple Leafs haven’t been able to see past the first round, the future is looking much more promising than it was ten years ago.

As we reflect on the past ten years, I threw together a list of some of the biggest Leafs goals between 2010-2019.

Some of them are clutch playoff goals, some of them stem from reasons beyond hockey.

We already looked at the top ten highlight reel goals of the decade, so let’s take a look at the top ten most meaningful goals of the decade.

#9 – Auston Matthews scores OT winner in Centennial Classic – January 1st, 2017

We kicked off the list with a highlight from an outdoor game against the Red Wings, so why don’t we go with another one for number nine.

This goal came three years after the 2014 Winter Classic and featured a new-and-improved roster led by the future young core of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And as we all know, with a young core comes growing pains.

In this game in particular, the Toronto Maple Leafs put together a 4-1 lead in the third period before the Red Wings stormed back with three goals in a row to tie it at 4-4, partially thanks to the Wings’ own young star Anthony Mantha, who had two goals of his own including the game-tying goal with two seconds to spare in the third period.

This goal had all of Leafs nation in a panic, but Auston Matthews essentially told everybody not to worry and took matters into his own hands.

After carrying the puck into the zone and dropping it to Jake Gardiner, Matthews finds the puck bouncing off of the end board and sneaks a no-look backhander by Jared Coreau to win it in overtime.

This would be one of many times Matthews would come up clutch with a big goal in his young career.

#8 – Auston Matthews Reaches 40 Goals in Rookie Season – April 8th, 2017

I guarantee you some people are going to laugh at me for putting an empty netter as one of the top goals of the decade.

And I’ll admit it looks funny out of context.

But in reality, the entire minute leading up to this goal is what helped it make the list. The goal itself is just icing on the cake.

This game in particular meant so much at the time because the win clinched them a spot in the playoffs.

And it all starts out with Curtis McElhinney absolutely robbing one of the best players in the world in Sidney Crosby.

Then, Crosby gets an identical chance which appears to be blocked by his own teammate.

Matthews picks up the puck, carries it out of the zone, and ices the game for his 40th while making history in the process.

Matthews would become the fourth rookie teenager in NHL history to score 40 in his first season, with Dale Hawerchuk, Mario Lemieux, and Sylvain Turgeon being the other three.

Pretty good company.

All in all, the last minute of this game featured a beautiful save followed by a 19-year old number one centre scoring a record setting goal and ultimately helping the team clinch a playoff spot after coming dead last the year prior. Storybook finish.

#7 – Paul Ranger Scores First Goal Since Hiatus – October 30th, 2013

Yes, I know it’s another empty net goal. But like the one before, this one also has meaning.

TSN did a story on one-time Leafs defenseman Paul Ranger, who seemingly disappeared from the game during the 2009-10 season.

It was revealed that Ranger was fighting depression and as a result, lost his love for the game of hockey. His battle with mental illness would wipe nearly three years out of his hockey career.

Ranger would make an eventual return to the pros during the 2012-13 season, signing an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies and taking on the role of an alternate captain.

He would then sign a one year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the offseason, thus marking a return to the NHL almost four years after he left.

Ranger would muscle Jiri Hudler off of the puck and hustle down the boards after the puck before putting it in the back of the net, marking his first NHL goal since October 10th, 2009.

On paper, this goal meant next to nothing to the Leafs, as it was an empty net goal in a regular season game.

But this goal more than likely meant the world to Ranger, seeing the hustle to retrieve the puck and the relief of knowing he was back playing the game he loved.

#6 – Connor Brown Scores GWG to Help Clinch Playoff Spot – April 8th, 2017

For the sixth goal on this list, we’re going to revisit the same game that featured Auston Matthews’ 40th marker.

This game against the Penguins was adrenaline pumping, to say the least.

A win would send them to the playoffs with their revamped core only a year after finishing dead last.

And the game came in exciting fashion. Down 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the third period, Kasperi Kapanen would score his first NHL goal against the team that drafted him.

And then came this goal.

Jake Gardiner receives the puck at the point, and with 2:48 remaining in the game, Connor Brown would tip Gardiner’s shot home to give the Leafs the lead and ultimately send them to the playoffs.

The Leafs’ rebuild was the centrepiece of many stories over the years, and the playoff clinch meant the world to the team and it’s fans at the time.

And for someone like Connor Brown, who grew up in Toronto and a Leafs fan, scoring the goal to help your childhood team to the playoffs is a timeless memory.

And you can see his excitement following the goal.

#5 – Jake Gardiner Scores First Home Playoff Goal Since 2004 – May 6th, 2013

Jake Gardiner was one of the most polarizing topics during his tenure in Toronto.

You either loved him or hated him. And oftentimes, the hate seemed to outweigh the love.

But regardless of what your feelings on Gardiner were during his time here, you can’t deny that this goal was one to remember.

The goal didn’t mean too much for the game itself, as the Leafs would go on to lose by a score of 5-2, but when you consider the fact that Gardiner’s goal was the first playoff goal scored at home since Travis Green did it on April 21st, 2004, the goal carries some emotional baggage.

Gardiner missed the net on his first shot before intercepting a Bruins clearing attempt and putting it home to cut the Toronto Maple Leafs deficit in half.

This series against the Bruins was and still is a touchy subject for Leaf fans, for reasons that I’m not going to get into.

But this goal snapped a nine year playoff goal drought and gave the fans something to cheer for.

#4 – Bozak Scores Hat Trick for Young Fan – March 28th, 2015

Here’s another goal that will tug at your heart strings.

The 2014-15 season was a lost cause towards the end.

The Leafs were already out of playoff contention, and it was known that a full on rebuild would be underway following the season.

But that didn’t stop them from making one young fan’s dream come true.

Garrett Gamble, an 11 year old fan with Morquio Syndrome from Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, was signed to a one day contract by the team and was flown into Toronto along with his family to watch his favourite team play for the first time.

Gamble got to meet the entire team including his favourite player, Tyler Bozak.

Instead of just the goal, here you can enjoy the whole day leading up to it.

Bozak would respond to this with a hat trick along with a skate around the ice post-game with Gamble, making for a highlight that the young fan will never forget.

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 15:

#3 – Kapanen Scores Double OT Winner in Game 2 – April 15th, 2017

Kasperi KapanenThere are some players out there who just have that clutch ability to score goals when the team needs them the most, and Kasperi Kapanen is one of them.

A quick look at his resume will tell you that.

Kapanen scored the OT winner to secure gold for Team Finland at the 2016 World Juniors.

He scored the game tying goal against the Penguins to help the Leafs clinch a playoff spot.

And he scored this goal in double overtime to give the Leafs the win in game two and tie the series up at 1-1.

The goal itself was nice, but the pass was a real thing of beauty.

Brian Boyle retrieves the puck behind the net and gives Kapanen a gorgeous no-look pass in front, leaving him with a wide open net to secure the victory.

It was a big goal for the Leafs and one that would send them back home with a chip on their shoulder and some extra confidence.

#2 – Bozak Secures Game 3 in OT – April 17th, 2017

The start of this series provided Leafs faithful with an element of excitement that hadn’t been seen since the 2013 playoffs, and we all know how that ended.

So in a decade where fans were faced with about as many negatives as positives, let’s focus on the positives.

Here’s a look at Tyler Bozak’s OT winner in game three.

Cycling the puck on the tail end of the powerplay to start the overtime period, Morgan Rielly sends the puck to Nazem Kadri on the boards, who sets up Tyler Bozak with a perfect tip-in over Braden Holtby’s left shoulder.

This goal would mark the Maple Leafs’ first win at home since game six of the 2013 playoffs, and give them a 2-1 series lead over the Capitals.

The excitement in the building at the time of this goal was incredible, and it was overall a great game to watch.

#1 – Auston Matthews Scores Four Goals in NHL Debut – October 12th, 2016

I’m going to be cheating a little bit on this one, but the reality is you can’t pick just one of these goals to use on the list.

The Toronto Maple Leafs team suffered for years and years without a true number one centre, and finally had their wishes answered when they selected Auston Matthews at first overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.

And when you’re coming into an organization as stories and as popular as the Toronto Maple Leafs, the microscope is going to be on you.

Expectations were high for Matthews, but nobody would have expected him to do what he did on October 12th, 2016.

He scores two in the first period before making history by completing the hat trick by the start of the second period.

And just for good measure, he scores a fourth before the end of the period.

The Leafs would go on to lose that game, but in the end I don’t think anybody was truly upset over the loss.

Matthews only took one game to show us what we’ve been missing in a true number one centre since Mats Sundin, and he did it with the reminder that we’re in good hands.

That wraps up my top 10 goals of the decade. Here’s to a new decade with many more exciting moments and hopefully a Stanley Cup. Have a happy new year, Leaf fans.