As the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs prepare to return to play, it’s nice to look at what could have been, had the season not been put on pause.
If the NHL had not been paused, the Toronto Maple Leafs would be gearing up for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft around this time.
However, the draft has since been moved to later this year, with the draft lottery have just taken place on Friday. With a qualifying round team having won the first overall pick, it’s even more fun to think about the possibility of the Leafs drafting atop the draft.
Nonetheless, as we wait for the impending season and draft, now is the perfect time to look back at some of the Leafs draft history. I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the Maple Leafs’ top draft picks of all time.
Now although the Leafs have had a long history of draft picks, full of both hits and misses, I’m going to primarily be considering players who made significant contributions as Leafs, rather than on other teams.
I will be taking into account their production as Leafs, their potential and how big of a steal they were when drafted. All NHL drafts will be considered, but of course, the players chosen to this list will only include those drafted by Toronto, not by any other team despite playing for the Leafs at a later time (sorry Mats Sundin).
With that said, here are the top five greatest draft picks by the Toronto Maple Leafs.