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Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Misses: 1980s Edition

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 16: Jon Casey #30 of the St. Louis Blues skates against Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the quarter finals of the1995-1996 NHL Playoffs at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 16: Jon Casey #30 of the St. Louis Blues skates against Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the quarter finals of the1995-1996 NHL Playoffs at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /
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DENVER – DECEMBER 12: Rob Blake #4 of the Colorado Avalanche .. (Photo by: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER – DECEMBER 12: Rob Blake #4 of the Colorado Avalanche .. (Photo by: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /

#10. Rob Blake (1988 NHL Entry Draft, 4th Round, 70th Overall)

Toronto’s Draft Pick: 4th Round, 69th Overall (Ted Crowley)

The one thing that makes this selection even tougher is that the Leafs just missed out on Mark Recchi and Tony Almonte before selecting Ted Crowley with the 69th overall pick.

So in a stretch of four picks, three played well over 1000 NHL games, and Toronto selected a player who only played 34 career games. Tough break.

Blake is more known for his time with the Colorado Avalanche because that’s where he won a Stanley Cup and was part of one of the best defensive crews in NHL history alongside Ray Bourque and Adam Foote.

However, his time with the LA Kings was arguably more impressive.

Blake won a Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 1997-98 with the Kings and was also part of the 1993 team that lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Blake ended up being the best defenseman within the 1988 Draft Class and was inducted into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame in 2014.

#9. Grant Fuhr (1981 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 8th Overall)

Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 6th Overall (Jim Benning)

With the Toronto Maple Leafs first round selection in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, they selected a talented defenseman from the Portland Winter Hawks named Jim Benning.

Yes, that same Jim Benning who is currently the G.M. of the Vancouver Canucks.

Having just scored 139 points in junior hockey, the Benning selection was justified. The Leafs hoped that he would be the next Bojre Salming: Another gifted defenseman who could help generate offense.

Unfortunately the Toronto Maple Leafs could have used goaltending help instead of another defenseman. Throughout the entire 1980s, the Leafs goaltending was always their crutch. They could have addressed that by selecting Fuhr, and who knows what the future would have held.

Fuhr ended up joining Wayne Gretzky in Edmonton and went on a run of four straight Stanley Cups, including a Vezina Trophy. Not only that, but he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003.

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