The Top 10 "Leafiest" Things to Ever Happen in Toronto Maple Leafs History
By James Tanner
The Top 10 "Leafiest" Things to Ever Happen in Toronto Maple Leafs History
10. Joe Sakic vs Luke Richardson
The Toronto Maple Leafs are notorious for making terrible decisions at the NHL Entry Draft, but this infamous error will haunt the franchise eternally.
As detailed here by Gord Stellick, at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, the Leafs head scout, Floyd Smith, tried unsuccessfully to convince GM Gerry McNamara to use the 7th overall pick on Joe Sakic.
Apparently, a huge argument ensued on the draft floor, but no one's mind was changed and the Leafs went with their original pick - defensive defenseman Luke Richardson.
Richardson would play just four seasons for the Leafs, and although he would go on to play nearly 1500 NHL games, he was never a star, and picking Joe Sakic would have, you know, drastically altered NHL history as we know it.
Joe Sakic, one of the best players to ever live, is the 9th highest scoring player in NHL history and won two Stanley Cups.
It is one thing for the Leafs to draft Travis Dermott one spot ahead of Sebastian Aho, but that's a total fluke and every team has that happen to them. This is different because the team's head scout argued passionately for the Leafs to take Sakic and they ignored him.
Had they taken Sakic, they likely never trade for Gilmour, maybe not even Sundin - who knows? All we know is that if the Leafs made the correct choice that day in 1987 Auston Matthews would still be the second-best player in Franchise History at this exact moment.
And that is what makes this one of the Leafiest Things to Ever Happen - they didn't just pick the wrong player; the player they passed on would have been the best player in Franchise History.