The Top 10 "Leafiest" Things to Ever Happen in Toronto Maple Leafs History

4. Nazem Kadri

It's kind of funny that everyone retroactively acts like Kadri was their favorite player, even though he never got the love he deserved when he was actually on the Leafs.

What's not funny at all is that Kadri lived up to every bad thing anyone ever said about him when he did what was probably the single most immature thing a Leafs player has ever done - he got himself suspended for not one, but two consecutive Game Sevens.

The fact that so many Leafs fans blame Kyle Dubas for trading Kadri, and not Kadri for getting himself traded, is one of the biggest injustices in Toronto Maple Leafs History.

The fact is, no player, on any team, in any sport, ever, is going to avoid changing teams when they get suspended for the deciding game in back-to-back seasons. That just isn't a player you can trust, and so you can't have him on the team.

I'll argue till I'm blue in the face that Alex Kerfoot was Kadri's equal at 5v5, but there is no denying that this is one of the most unpopular trades the Leafs have ever made.

Losing Kadri for 2 x Game Sevens is bad enough - the Leafs have had eight tries at the Playoffs in the Auston Matthews Era and they have only made it to the second round once - but that's not even the worst of it.

In 2021 Nazem Kadri defied all that we know about aging in the NHL and scored a career high 87 points in just 71 games then went on to win the Stanley Cup.

What could be Leafier than a once prized prospect being replaced with John Tavares, forcing his way out of town, defying every known aging curve, and then doing what the Leafs cannot do - win the Stanley Cup?

Well, as it turns out, three things are Leafier.