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Top 5 Most Beloved Toronto Maple Leafs of All-Time

ByStephen Nixon|
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 15: Retired Maple Leaf legend Doug Glimour watches as his #93 is formally retired and raised to the rafters prior to action between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in an NHL game on October 15, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 15: Retired Maple Leaf legend Doug Glimour watches as his #93 is formally retired and raised to the rafters prior to action between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in an NHL game on October 15, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – MAY 2: Arturs Irbe #32 and Vlastimil Kroupa #26 of the San Jose Sharks skate against Wendel Clark #17 and Doug Gilmour #93 of the Toronto Maple Leaf (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)

There are hundreds of beloved Toronto Maple Leafs in history, but we had to narrow it down to five.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may not have won a championship since 1967, but there have been countless adored players throughout history. From the captain who leads the team in points, to the tough guy who fights at will, Toronto has fallen in love with many different Maple Leafs.

The idea of falling in love with a hockey player is something that happens when you’re a kid. If you’re 40-years-old and have a shrine of a current Toronto Maple Leafs player, that’s just sad, because to me, fandom is at it’s highest peak when you’re a child.

The thrill of playing mini-sticks in your basement or hockey on the pond are memories that last a life-time and within those special moments, you always remember reenacting your favourite player. Whether it was pretending you were Mats Sundin taking a slap-shot to score his 500th goal or beating up one of your buddies like Dave “Tiger” Williams, you always reenacted your favourite hockey moments.

For kids watching the Toronto Maple Leafs today, all of them either wear #34 or #16 in minor hockey, pretending to be Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner. For those minor league players growing up, those professionals are like gods to them, just like the Darryl Sittler’s or Dave Keon’s were for others.

Every win felt like a Stanley Cup victory and every loss felt like the worst break-up of your life. It was do-or-die and when your favourite player did something special, there wasn’t anything cooler in life.

Here are the top five most beloved Toronto Maple Leafs players in team history:

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