3 NHL Stars That Were Almost Toronto Maple Leafs

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?

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.