Toronto Maple Leafs All-Decade Team Roundtable

TORONTO, ON - MARCH 10: Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring on Tristan Jarry #35 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the Air Canada Centre on March 10, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates behind Kapanen. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MARCH 10: Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring on Tristan Jarry #35 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the Air Canada Centre on March 10, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates behind Kapanen. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – MARCH 10: Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates after scoring on Tristan Jarry #35 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at the Air Canada Centre on March 10, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Phil Kessel #81 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates behind Kapanen. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs did not have a very good run during 2010s.

The Toronto Maple Leafs began the decade trying to get over Mats Sundin by creating a new team identity around Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf.

Needless to say, it did not go well.
Both cornerstone players were signed to ill-advised contract extensions just months before the team wised up and put Brendan Shanahan in charge.

Though the first half of the decade was a frustrating failure, the second half was marked by the Midas touch of Brendan Shanahan as he and his management team build the Leafs through the draft with some of the best players to ever wear the uniform.

So while the Leafs went yet another decade without winning the Stanley Cup, they did the hard work needed in the last half of the decade to ensure some success in the 2020s.

Earlier the team at Editor In Leaf worked on a piece featuring the Leafs best goaltenders and defensemen of the decade. Here a few of us expanded on that by creating our very own full lineups to provide some more reminisce of the past 10 years.

Let’s take a glimpse back in time to review the players that illustrated the stories of decade for the Toronto Maple Leafs