The Toronto Maple Leafs have a rich history enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Whether it’s the Hall’s location in Toronto, the franchise’s history spanning over a century, or the Toronto Maple Leafs holding the record for most personnel inducted into the Hall of Fame, the Hall and the Leafs have a special relationship.
And yet, with over 60 former players featured in the Hall of Fame, there is still a handful of Toronto Maple Leafs that have a legitimate case to be inducted alongside the greats in hockey history.
The Toronto players currently in the Hall of Fame range from career Maple Leafs, spanning decades and hundreds of games, to a short stint either at the beginning of a career or as their career was coming to a close.
For example, Eddie Gerard counts as part of Toronto’s Hall of Famers, but he played just one game for the franchise as a substitute in the Stanley Cup Finals. Phil Housley is another one, playing just one regular-season game and three in the playoffs before retiring after 2003.
Conversely, you have George Armstrong who played 21 seasons solely in blue and white, plus the likes of Turk Broda, Ted Kennedy, and Syl Apps who also spent their entire careers with the Leafs.
Overall, most of the Leafs Hall of Famers spent a few seasons in Toronto while playing in a few other locations in their career, as is the case for most teams. For the most part, those are the remaining candidates from Toronto’s history waiting to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The career Maple Leafs deserving to be in the Hall have, for the most part, already been inducted. With the lack of team success over the past 50 years, the bulk of career Toronto players deserving of Hall of Fame status would have done so in the glory days of the 40s and 60s and have long been in the Hall of Fame (with the exception of one that we will get to later).
Let’s jump into our first potential nominee, the former Maple Leaf that has the best chance to enter the Hall of Fame in 2020.