Injury Potentially Costs the Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup and Hall of Fame Player

The Toronto Maple Leafs could have lost out on a hall of fame player because of injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a potentially franchise altering trade on early in the year 1999.

The Leafs sent disgruntled former starter Felix Potvin (no longer needed because they signed Curtis Joseph as a free-agent the previous summer) to the New York Islanders in exchange for Bryan Berard.  

Berard was a former first overall and Calder Trophy winning defenseman, who for some reason the Islanders gave up on.

Berard played in just over one hundred games for the Leafs before an errant stick from Marian Hossa cost him the vision in one of his eyes.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Bryan Berard

Berard was just 21 when the Leafs traded for him, and its rough for a franchise that hasn’t won a Cup in over 50 years to consider what might have been if he wasn’t injured.

Berard was missed the rest of the season after he was hit in the eye, then the entire following season. He returned the year after that with the Rangers, before joining the bruins 2002.

With (essentially) just one eye, it’s a testament to Berard’s talent and potential that he was able to resume his NHL career at all.

The craziest thing about him is that in his fourth year after the injury, while playing with the Chicago Blackhawks, Berard scored 47 points in 58 games.

Imagine what he would have done if capable of playing to his full potential, if he could be nearly a point-per-game defenseman despite all that happened to him?

I don’t think there is any question that had Berard not been hurt, he would have been the best defenseman to ever play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Likely he would today be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

During the Cujo/Sundin years the Leafs went to two conferences finals.  How far do they go if they don’t lose their best defenseman for nothing?

Tomas Kaberle is an amazing player and he should probably be in the Hall of Fame as well.  Imagine that team if Kaberle is their second best defenseman instead of their first?

Adding a Hall of Fame defensman to the teams that came just short of making it to the Stanley Cup Finals is likely enough to put them over the top.

If Brian Berard never loses the vision in his eye, the Toronto Maple Leafs could very well have won a Stanley Cup with Mats Sundin, Tomas Kaberle and Curtis Joseph.

Borje Salming would no longer be the best Leafs defenseman of all-time, and history would be very different.