May 2, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) d Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY SportsAs the Toronto Maple Leafs continue their playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, let’s take a look at some of the best players to play for both teams since the Lightning joined the NHL in 1992.
I got the idea for this list while watching Zach Bogosian suit up against his former Toronto Maple Leafs teammates which he played with only last season.
Spoiler alert! Bogosian did not make this list, but he got me thinking about some of the great players that played for both team.
Before we start, this is a list of “Top 10 Tampa Bay Lightning who were also Toronto Maple Leafs” and not “Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs who were also Tampa Bay Lightning.” That means I’m ranking them by their performances as Tampa Bay Lightning and not by what they achieved as Toronto Maple Leafs. Maybe I’ll create the opposite list one day.
There are obviously a lot of players that have played for both teams, and I wanted to keep the list down to a manageable 10 players. Honourable mentions not on this list would include John Cullen, Eric Brewer and Mike Johnson.
Prepare yourself for a trip down memory lane and enjoy the list!
(Stats from QuantHockey.com)