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.
Wayne Gretzky
Arguably the greatest player in NHL history, he is at the very least the most prolific.
Gretzky has more assists (1,963) than any other player has points and he boasts over 50 NHL records to this day, over 25 years after his retirement.
In 1996, Gretzky was 35 and had been traded to the St. Louis Blues as a deadline acquisition from the Los Angeles Kings.
That summer, he did not come to terms on an agreement with the Blues and hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
After weighing his many options of who to sign with according to reports he had narrowed down to three teams; The Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Then-GM Cliff Fletcher tried hard to make it happen but ultimately, Gretzky opted to re-join longtime Oilers teammate Mark Messier with the Rangers. He signed a two-year agreement and extended one more season to retire as a Ranger in 1999.
Had the Leafs been able to ink a deal with Gretzky, he would have immediately been the best player on the team and it is no telling what could have happened.
Many feel he was the reason that the team was unable to make the Stanley Cup finals in 1993, could he have righted that wrong if he signed in Toronto?
Roberto Luongo
A lockout nearly wiped out the 2012-13 season but thankfully a new collective bargaining agreement was signed between the NHL and NHLPA and the season resumed on a much reduced 48-game schedule.
Heading into the 2013 Trade Deadline, the Maple Leafs were in a playoff position and were on their way to their first postseason berth in nearly a decade.
That iteration of the Leafs had many flaws and their crease was definitely one of them and had been for years.
Despite the otherworldly performance of homegrown James Reimer, GM Dave Nonis wanted to beef up the position and set his sights on hall of fame netminder Roberto Luongo.
There had been rumors for years surrounding Luongo and the Leafs.
According to Luongo himself he was willing to waive his no-movement clause to join the team but the deal never came to fruition.
It reportedly would have included backup goalie Ben Scrivens and a haul of draft picks sent to the Canucks for the star goaltender.
Although many have picked apart his performances in big games, he was one of the main reasons behind Team Canada's 2010 Olympic gold medal win and he had played in many big games before including the 2011 Stanley Cup finals against the Leafs' eventual round one opponent, the Boston Bruins.
It is impossible to say now but one thing is for sure, had Nonis acquired Luongo it would have undoubtedly changed the course of history as we know it.
Jeff Carter
In 2008, Jeff Carter was 23 years old and had proven to be a capable goal scorer and top-six center in the NHL having surpassed 20 goals in two of his first three seasons.
The Toronto Maple Leafs at the time were faced with some harsh realities as their aging had finally seemed to fizzle out, prompting them to fir GM John Ferguson Jr. hiring former GM Cliff Fletcher to replace him on an interim basis.
Looking to try and kickstart the rebuild, Fletcher was shopping his players but was largely handicapped by the infamous “Muskoka Five” who all had trade protection clauses. Looking like they were going to lose franchise player and top-line center Mats Sundin in free agency, Fletcher was trying to replace him.
Things got reportedly close with the Philadelphia Flyers heading to the deadline. The reported deal was the Leafs would send top-pair defenceman Tomas Kaberle to the Flyers in exchange for the young Carter and a first round pick.
This deal would have been great for the Leafs and would have allowed them to get an NHL-ready young piece for the future and a high draft pick but Kaberle exercised his right and shot down the trade.
All of these moves would have changed the course of history.
The Leafs of the late 90’s and early 2000’s were seen as cup contenders and getting the best player in league history could have certainly helped them. Would the infamous 2013 Bruins series gone differently with Luongo between the pipes?
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Could the Leafs have been able to become more respectable with a true number-one center had they acquired Carter? We will never know but it is always fun to look back and speculate on what could have been.