3 NHL Stars That Were Almost Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke once referred to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the mecca of the hockey world. It is a fitting descriptor for a market that consistently boasts some of the best attendance and revenue numbers year-after-year.

As you would expect, there is a lot of media attention that is focused on the Toronto Maple Leafs and rumours are swirling at a constant rate.

It is no surprise then, that there are many NHL legends who have donned the blue and white and many more who were close.

We saw one of these rumors come true six years ago when the Leafs landed hometown boy, John Tavares. An elite player who many had speculated could join the team as a free agent and unlike usual, he did. 

The Leafs had teased for years, coming close with similar players like Steve Stamkos who was also rumoured to want to come and play where he grew up. While Stamkos ulitimately passed on signing with the Leafs, Tavares did not.

Even though Tavares and the Leafs haven't won anything yet, his run here has been amazing. He scored 41 goals in his debut season and has since risen to 22nd on the all-time Leafs leaderboard.

Today, we’re going to look at three notable examples of players who were close to but never actually played a game for the Toronto Maple Leafs.