Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Misses: 1980s Edition
The Toronto Maple Leafs have missed out on a number of Hall-of-Fame players over the years in NHL Entry Draft.
The NHL Entry Draft is a crap-shoot and hindsight is always 20/20, but over the last 50 years the Toronto Maple Leafs roster could have looked a lot different.
For the purpose of this fun experiment, I’ve decided to look back at the last 40 NHL Entry Drafts starting in 1980 to see what could have been for our beloved franchise.
Although there are hundreds of players you could say that the Leafs should have drafted, there is one important criteria to this.
- The player can only be a “miss” if another team selected that individual within five picks of the Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick.
The reason for this is because it makes it much more realistic that the Leafs missed out on a player if another team drafted them that close.
For example, Dominik Hasek went 199th overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, while Toronto had the 188th overall pick. If 10 more teams passed up one of the greatest goaltender of all-time, then I consider that more of a league-miss than a Leafs miss.
For the next week, we’ll posting each decade starting with the 1980s, then moving towards 2010s.
Here are the top 10 draft misses by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1980s.
#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.
#8. Phil Housely (1982 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 6th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 3rd Overall (Gary Nylund)
The Toronto Maple Leafs must have loved the water in Portland because for the second year in a row, they decided to draft a defenseman from the Winter Hawks.
Nylund was a different type of defenseman than Benning, though. Although he was less offensively skilled, he was definitely tougher. Listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Nylund had 267 penalty minutes in his last year of junior hockey, which the Leafs must have fell in love with.
1980s hockey was tough and the Toronto Maple Leafs must have hoped that Nylund would help in that category. As they were focused on toughness, they missed out on the most skilled defenseman of the 1982 Draft Class.
Phil Housley was drafted three spots later by the Buffalo Sabres and went onto become one of the highest scoring defenseman in NHL history. Housley finished with 1232 points and played 1495 career games.
Although Housley finished his career as a Maple Leaf, the team missed a huge opportunity for him to start his career there when they selected Nylund instead in the first round of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft.
#7. Alex Mogilny (1988 NHL Entry Draft, 5th Round, 89th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 5th Round, 86th Overall (Len Esau)
Mogilny was the steal of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.
It makes sense that it took five rounds for Mogilny to be drafted because there were tensions about players leaving Russia to join the NHL in that time. Mogilny disappeared one night with the help of the Sabres to be able to join them in North America.
Similar to Fuhr and Housley, Mogilny would also eventually join Toronto later his career. However, it’s crazy to think how good the Leafs roster would have been with Mogilny in the early 1990s.
The Leafs were already led by Doug Gilmour, but with Mogilny’s talent, it’s possible that his help would have got them to a Stanley Cup Final. Mogilny scored 76 goals in the 1992-93 season, which was the first of two seasons that the Leafs made the Conference Finals.
Mogilny on a line with Gilmour could have been the most unstoppable duo in the NHL. Gilmour was one of the best players in the world during the Leafs stretch from 1992-1994, so paired up with Mogilny could have made him even more unstoppable.
Fortunately Leafs fans were able to see a great duo of Mogilny and Sundin later in his career, but if he were drafted to the team in 1988, a Stanley Cup could have been possible.
#6. Rod Brind’Amour (1988 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 9th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 6th Overall (Scott Pearson)
The 1988 NHL Entry Draft was stacked. Highlighted by Rob Blake and Alex Mogilny who we’ve already talked about, the top of this draft was even better.
There are a few more names we’ll get to, but Rod Brind’Amour is deserving of the number-six spot on this list.
The current coach of the Carolina Hurricanes was nicknamed “Rod the Bod” for a reason. He was a big body player who used his strength to his advantage.
As one of the best power forwards of the 1990s, Brind’Amour had five seasons where he scored 30-plus goals. Not only was he a goal scorer and point-producer but his defensive play was world-class, winning the Selke Trophy twice in his career.
Similar to Mogilny, Brind’Amour could have been a player to help the Leafs get over the hump and win a Cup. Their selection of Scott Pearson was a bust, as he only played 62 career games with the team before being traded to Quebec.
#5. Scott Stevens (1982 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 5th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 3rd Overall (Gary Nylund)
Back to the 1982 NHL Entry Draft we go. The Leafs selection of Gary Nylund should continue to haunt them.
By selection Nylund, the Leafs not only missed out on Phil Housley but on Scott Stevens as well.
Stevens is best known for his bone-crunching hits in the ‘trolley-tracks’, most notably against Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya, but he was more gifted than that. Stevens’ offense was also very impressive.
For his era, he was the perfect defenseman. He could fight, hit and score, whereas in today’s NHL, the latter is typically the most important part.
After being drafted by Washington, Stevens will always be remembered for his time with the New Jersey Devils. Stevens’ best offensive year came in New Jersey when he scored 18 goals and had 78 points.
Although he would never win a Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, that was one of two seasons where he would finish runner-up.
Stevens won three Stanley Cups during his time in New Jersey, most notably winning the Conn Smythe Award during their win in 2000.
Stevens could have been a staple on the Leafs blue-line for years, but unfortunately he was just another selection that Leafs passed on in the NHL Entry Draft.
#4. Cam Neely (1983 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 9th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 7th Overall (Russ Courtnall)
He won’t go down as one of the greatest Leafs to ever play, but Russ Courtnall had a great NHL career finishing with 744 points in 1029 games.
In terms of draft picks, he’s sixth in all-time points during his draft class, so the Leafs made a great selection with this pick. Despite it being a good pick, Courtnall is no Cam Neely.
Injuries may have shortened Neely’s career, but he still made enough of an impact to be inducted into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame in 2005. Neely was a rare talent that used his skill, fists and body in order to become one of the best power-forwards of all-time.
Neely had three seasons of 50 or more goals and had 1241 penalty minutes in only 726 games played. Also, even though his career was HHOF worthy, he may never have had the injury problems that occurred in Boston, if he were drafted to Toronto
Not only that, but Neely would have been a fan-favourite and icon in Toronto if the Leafs ended up picking him instead of Courtnall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
#3. Joe Nieuwendyk (1985 NHL Entry Draft, 2nd Round, 27th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 2nd Round, 22nd Overall (Ken Spangler)
Despite missing out on him in 1985, Nieuwendyk played 64 total NHL games for the Leafs during the 2003-04 season.
Nieuwendyk was a huge miss and another player during the 1980s that could have been detrimental in bringing a Stanley Cup to Toronto.
During his first four full seasons in the NHL, Nieuwendyk goal totals went as follows: 51, 51, 45 and 45 goals. He won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1988 and was on a fast track to the Hall-of-Fame after winning a Stanley Cup in Calgary in 1989.
Success followed Nieuwendyk no matter what team he played on, as he won three Stanley Cups with three different teams. Included with those Stanley Cup victories is a Conn Smythe Trophy he won in 1999 when he had 21 points in 23 games for the Dallas Stars.
Although he would eventually become a Maple Leaf, it happened at the tail-end of his career, so Leafs fans weren’t able to see the dominant center that he was during the late 80s and 90s.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs had drafted him, Nieuwendyk and Gilmour could have ended up being the best 1-2 center punch in the NHL, and who knows what could have happened.
Speaking of Gilmour…
#2. Doug Gilmour (1982 NHL Entry Draft, 7th Round, 134th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 7th Round, 129th Overall (Dominic Campedelli)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had many future Hall-of-Famers from the 1980s NHL Entry Drafts play for them. They just never seem to start their career in Toronto, just like Gilmour.
Drafted in the seventh round, Gilmour is the biggest steal of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. It’s a crime that there were 133 selections before him because Gilmour ended up leading the entire Draft Class in points.
The Leafs technically had 10 chances to draft Gilmour before St. Louis eventually took him with the 134th selection, but passed on him every time.
It wasn’t as if Gilmour came out of nowhere when he came into the NHL either. He made an impact right away with the Blues with three straight 20-plus goal seasons. From there, Gilmour would have three 100-plus point seasons, including two with the Maple Leafs.
Although Gilmour’s only Stanley Cup came in Calgary, he’ll be forever known as a Leaf. During a stretch from 1992-1994 when the Leafs went to back-to-back Conference Finals, Gilmour was one of the best players on the planet and finished second in Hart Trophy voting in the 1992-93 season.
Although the Leafs missed on Gilmour in the NHL Entry Draft, thankfully they eventually acquired him in a trade because he is one of the most beloved Leafs of all-time.
#1. Teemu Selanne (1988 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 10th Overall)
Toronto’s Draft Pick: 1st Round, 6th Overall (Scott Pearson)
This one stings as the Leafs missed out on a future 684 career goal scorer in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.
Selanne, or the “Finnish Flash”, burst on the scene in the 1992-93 season winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. It was a season to remember, as Selanne scored 76 goals and 132 points. That season of 76 goals as a rookie is still the NHL record, and will be an almost impossible record to beat.
Now let’s take a seat back. In 1988, the Leafs missed out on Selanne in the first round, Blake in the second round and Mogilny in the fifth round. For a Leafs team that was already so powerful in the early 90s, these three players would have made the Leafs the most unstoppable team in the NHL.
Selanne and Mogilny both had 76 goals in the 92-93 season! The amount of firepower that the Leafs would have had possessed would have been incredible. They would have been the Harlem Globetrotters of the NHL at that point.
As his career continued, Selanne played a key part in Anaheim’s Stanley Cup victory in 2007 and was a 10-time NHL All-Star. Not only that, but the Hockey Hall-of-Fame came calling in 2017 where he became only the second Finnish-player inducted.
5 Leafs Prospects That Should be on Stand-By. dark. Next
Although every name on this list would have been a huge contributor to the Leafs, Selanne was the biggest miss by the Leafs in the 1980s.