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Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Misses: 1990s Edition

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO - OCTOBER 13: Pavel Kubina #77 of the Toronto Maple Leafs handles the puck during the game against the St.Louis Blues at Air Canada Centre on October 13, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
TORONTO - OCTOBER 13: Pavel Kubina #77 of the Toronto Maple Leafs handles the puck during the game against the St.Louis Blues at Air Canada Centre on October 13, 2008 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images) /
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KANATA, CANADA – APRIL 9: Martin Havlat #9 of the Ottawa Senators (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI)
KANATA, CANADA – APRIL 9: Martin Havlat #9 of the Ottawa Senators (Photo by Dave Sandford/Getty Images/NHLI) /

#10. Martin Havlat (1999 NHL Entry Draft, 1st Round, 26th Overall)

Toronto’s Actual Pick: 1st Round, 24th Overall (Luca Cereda)

Within this experiment it’s easier to justify missing on a pick late in the draft, but a first round miss is tough to see.

Looking back at the first round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, there were only three players that didn’t play a single NHL game and the Toronto Maple Leafs pick of Luca Cereda was one of them.

To make things worse, Havlat ended up playing 790 NHL games, while the Leafs got nothing in return from Cereda.

Toronto Maple Leafs fans probably most likely remember Havlat from his time with the Ottawa Senators where he had three consecutive 20-plus goal seasons early in his career.

Havlat was an offensive threat for the first decade of his NHL career averaging close to a point per game, but injuries halted the latter half. Despite health stopping his production, Havlat had a solid NHL career finishing with 594 points in 790 career games.

#9. Radim Vrbata (1999 NHL Entry Draft, 7th Round, 212nd Overall)

Toronto’s Actual Pick: 7th Round, 211th Overall (Vladimir Kulikov)

It’s unsure whether the Leafs would have picked Henrik Zetterberg if he fell one spot later to them, but it’s crazy to see that one of the best European players of our generation was drafted with the 210th overall pick in this draft.

The Leafs missed out on the opportunity to draft Zetterberg, then took Vladimir Kulikov, followed by Radim Vrbata going next. This was a huge miss for the Leafs, as not only did Detroit steal away a future Hall-of-Famer but Toronto skipped on Vrbata who would play over 1000 games in the NHL.

The NHL Entry Draft is a lot of guess work, but it’s always tough to see a huge miss like this.

Vrbata was the definition of a solid right-winger. He fit in perfectly as a top-six winger, and produced six seasons of 20-plus goals.

His best offensive season came late in his career in the 2014-15 season with the Vancouver Canucks when he scored 31 goals and had 63 points, while being selected to the NHL All-Star Team that year.

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