Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Toronto Maple Leafs.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Maple Leafs again made the playoffs but faced their usual result: a first-round exit.  Despite this, the team was loaded with veterans and saw significant elevations in the Top 50.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Syl Apps
2. Turk Broda
3. Tim Horton
4. Charlie Conacher
5. Borje Salming 

You can find the entire list here.

On the strength of his 69-Goal season, Auston Matthews rocketed to #8 from #15.

Right Wing Mitch Marner advances to #33 from #36.

Defenseman Morgan Rielly moved up four spots to #38.

Center John Tavares climbed to #39 from #40.

William Nylander went to #45 from #48.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

The city of Toronto lost one of its great hockey players with the passing of Ron Ellis.  He was 79 years old.

A member of Toronto’s last Stanley Cup Championship team in 1967, Ron Ellis played his entire career with the Maple Leafs (1963-1981) where he scored 640 Points.  Ellis was a four-time All-Star and led the NFL in Game-Winning Goals (7) in 1966-67.  The Right Wing was also known for his philanthropic efforts during and after his playing career.

We here at Notinhalloffame offer our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Ron Ellis.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Toronto Maple Leafs.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Toronto finally broke through and made it to the second round of the playoffs, but in “Six” it is all about winning it all.  Last year yielded several elevations and two new entrants, which is impressive considering we are talking about an organization that is over a century old. 

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Syl Apps

2. Turk Broda

3. Tim Horton

4. Charlie Conacher

5. Borje Salming

You can find the entire list here.

Former Hart Trophy winner, Auston Matthews, continues his ascension, as he is now ranked at #15, having risen from #18.

Right Wing, Mitch Marner, climbed to #36 from #43.

Former #1 Draft Pick, John Tavares makes his debut at #40.

Defenseman. Morgan Reilly, advanced to #42 from #47.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

From Sweden, William Nylander was the 8^th Overall Pick in the 2014 Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and it did not take long for him to be a top forward for the club.

After he was drafted, Nylander spent the next two years switching from the Swedish League and the AHL, and he made his NHL debut in February of 2016, finishing with 13 Points in 21 Games, proving that he belonged permanently on the main roster.  Nylander scored 61 Points in each of the next two years, but a pay dispute led to a late start in 2018/19, and he was off all year, producing only 27 Points in 54 Games leading to concern among the fan base.   They needn’t have worried.

Nylander bounced back with his first 30-plus year (31) in 2019/20, and in 2021/22, broke out with his first 80 Point campaign.   The Swedish Center imrproved his numbers in 2022-23 Goals (40), Assists (47) and Points (87), and last year he came close to 100 Points (98) with his second straight 40 Goal year.  His performance was so good, that he finally made it to the All-Star Game.

While Auston Matthews gains the most attention, much of Toronto's offensive power comes from Nylander.

The First Overall Pick in 2009, John Tavares began his pro career with the New York Islanders.  With the Isles, Tavares was a five-time All-Star, one-time First Team All-Star and was the face of the franchise.  However, home is where the heart is, and the native of Mississauga, Ontario jumped at the chance to fulfill his childhood dream and wear the blue and white.  That came true in 2018, when the Center signed as a Free Agent.

While it might seem that Tavares has not been as productive as a Maple Leaf, based on All-Star appearances, he has not had to be Toronto’s top scorer like he had to be in New York.  That being said, Tavares goes into this season with a higher Point-per-Game Average in Toronto, and his 88-Point/47 Goal year in 2018-19 was his highest to date.  Since then, Tavares has produced Point outputs of 60, 50, 76, 80 and 65, which have helped the Maple Leafs reach the playoffs each year.

Tavares would love nothing better than to complete the boyhood dream and hoist the Stanley Cup as a Maple Leaf.  He has the surrounding parts to make it happen.

Hockey, on both sides of the Atlantic lost a great one today.

Borje Salming, who was diagnosed with ALS, passed away at the age of 71.

Salming was last seen at the Hockey Hall of Fame Game earlier this month, where the Leafs iced an all-Swedish lineup to begin the game aginst their opponent, Vancouver.  Salming, who was still mobile, had already lost the ability to speak due to the disease, dropped the ceremonial first puck.

When Salming was first courted to try out for the Maple Leafs, the National Hockey League was of the belief that Swedish players were not tough enough to survive the rigors of the North American game.  The Defenseman not only made the team, but excelled, earning six Post-Season All-Star Selections.  Salming scored 798 Points in the NHL, and was the domino that broke through Europeans to thrive in the most competitive league in professional hockey.

Salming was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, the first Swedish player to have that honor.  Two years later, he entered the IIHF Hall of Fame.  His number #21 was also retired by Toronto.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to offer our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Borje Salming.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2021/22 revision of our top Toronto Maple Leafs.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Maple Leafs made the playoffs but were again bounced in the first round.  Toronto might be an Original Six team with over a century of history, but last season brought us two new entries and one gigantic leap, though none of these affected the top fifteen.

As always, we present our top five:

1. Syl Apps

2. Turk Broda

3. Tim Horton

4. Charlie Conacher

5. Borje Salming

You can find the entire list here.

The colossal jump that we mentioned earlier was Auston Matthews, who last year won the Hart Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, the Rocket Richard Award, and showed that he was the best player in hockey in 2021-22.  The American Center skyrocketed from #42 to #18.

Right Wing, Mitch Marner debuts at #42.  He has been named a First Team All-Star the last two seasons.

Defenseman, Morgan Rielly also makes his first appearance at #46.  

The additions of Marner and Rielly knock Phil Kessel and Gus Mortson off the list.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Currently entering his tenth season in the NHL, Morgan Rielly has been the best Defenseman for Toronto for years, a prognostication that the organization hoped for when they took him Fifth Overall in 2012.

Rielly made the Leafs the following season, and he has at least 20 Assists in his first four seasons, providing solid offensive rushes, while quickly finding work on the power play.  In his fifth season (2017-18), Rielly broke out with a 52 Point year, which he followed with his best season to date, a 20-52-72 campaign that saw him finish fifth in Norris voting.  

He dropped back to his rookie numbers the two years after, but he rebounded in 2021/22 with a 68-Point campaign and had 58 last year with his first All-Star Game appearance.  As the top offensive blueliner in Toronto going into the 2023-24, Rielly is poised to climb many more rungs on this ladder.

Drafted Fourth Overall in the 2015 Draft, Marner led the London Knights to a Memorial Cup Championship in 2016, proving himself to be one of the best Juniors of his day.  Marner transferred that success shortly after to the Maple Leafs, posting a 61 Point season and earning All-Rookie honors at Right Wing.

Marner continued to adapt quickly to the NHL speed, and the playmaker had a 94 Point campaign in 2018-19, his third year in Hockey.  Although Marner’s numbers only saw him score 67 Points in both 2019-20 and 2020-21, he played less than 60 Games those years, with the latter being the COVID-shortened season.  Marner was named a First Team All-Star that year, and he built on that last season with his best year to date, with a 97 Point year and his second straight First Team All-Star Selection.  While unable to secure another post-seasin All-Star in 2022-23, Marner set a new high in Points with 99.  Last season, he again posted solid numbers with an 85-Point campaign.

Entering hise ninth season in Toronto, and in addition to his aforementioned honors, he has received both Selke and Lady Byng votes in the last six seasons, with two 13th-place finishes for the Hart.  This is a player to keep watching and is currently one of the top Wings in Hockey.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Formed in 1917 as the Toronto Arenas, the team would become a member of the "Original Six" and win the Stanley Cup in the NHL's first year.  Renaming themselves the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919, they won their second title in 1922.  In 1927, they made their third and final name change, that to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto won it all again in 1932 and would dominate the 1940s capturing the Cup five times that decade, and were the winners again in 1951.  The 1960s were again their decade, winning the Stanley Cup four times, the last being in 1967.

The Leafs have not made the Stanley Cup Finals since.

Our Top 50 lists in baseball look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2020/21 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always, we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Syl Apps

2. Turk Broda

3. Tim Horton

4. Charlie Conacher

5. Borje Salming

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for our more material coming soon!

As always, we thank you for your support.

“Bill Barilko disappeared that summer

He was on a fishing trip

The last goal he ever scored

Won the Leafs the cup

They didn't win another till nineteen sixty two

The year he was discovered

I stole this from a hockey card

I keeped tucked up under”

The Tragically Hip.

The subject of the legendary Canadian band's song, "Fifty Mission Cap," Bill Barilko was a strong Defenseman who logged a lot of minutes on the ice and in the penalty box.  The tough player was a large part of four Stanley Cup Championships and would twice finish in the top ten in Defensive Point Shares.  Barilko scored the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the ’51 Finals, which was the deciding game.  At age 24, Barilko was on top of the world and should have had many more years to come.

Barilko died in a plane crash on his way to a fishing trip.  As the song stated, the Leafs never won a Cup until the "year he was discovered," 1962, when the plane was found.  

The Leafs would officially retire his number 5 in 1992, likely due to the renewed attention from Gord Downie and company.

Paired with Swedish Hall of Famer Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull was one half of an offensive tandem from the blueline that was one of the best in the National Hockey League.

Turnbull was a First Round Pick in 1973 and would make the Maple Leafs roster as a rookie with a 35 Point year.  The Defenseman was injured for most of his sophomore year, but he bounced back as one of the top offensive Defenseman in hockey.  From 1976-77 to 1980-81, Turnbull scored at least 60 Points in four of those five years, and in that period, he had a five-goal game which remains a record for an NHL Defenseman.  

An All-Star in 1977, Turnbull was traded to Los Angeles in 1981, leaving Toronto with 414 Points and a PPG of .71, which is among the best of any Defenseman in franchise history.

In the middle of Norm Ullman’s 13^th season with the Detroit Red Wings, the Center was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of an eight-player transaction.  Ullman would show that he still had a lot left despite his veteran status.

Ullman scored at least 50 Points in his first five seasons with the Leafs, and it was in Toronto where he posted a career-high with 85 in 1970-71.  An All-Star twice as a Maple Leaf, the durable Canadian remained one of the better Centers in hockey until his play dropped off in the 1974-75 Season.  He signed with Edmonton of the WHA after that year.

With the Maple Leafs, Ullman had 471 Points, and averaged .88 Points per Game, .01 more than he did as a Red Wing.  Ullman was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

Tod Sloan signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1946 and was called up for one game that year and 29 the year after.  The Leafs won the Cup that year, though Sloan was not on the roster, the following season, he was there to stay.

A versatile forward who played at both Center and Right Wing, Sloan had his break-out season in 1950-51 with 31 Goals.  Sloan was on the post-season roster for Toronto that year, and he got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup that year.  Sloan remained strong the year after, leading the NHL in Power Play Goals in 1951-52, but he would struggle in the two seasons after, failing to come close to 20 Goals.

Sloan rebounded in 1955-56, with 37 Goals and a league-leading 28 on Even Strength.  He was named a Second Team All-Star and was the runner-up to Montreal's Jean Beliveau for the Hart.  He played two more years in Toronto before he was traded to Chicago.

As a Leaf, Sloan had 346 Points.

Curtis Joseph should be better known for his stellar season early in his career with St. Louis, where he was a three-time leader in Goalie Point Shares, but many remember him more for his time in Toronto, his third NHL team.

Signing as a Free Agent in 1998, “Cujo” was an instant fan favorite in Toronto, and he instantly made the Maple Leafs better.  Joseph was second and third in Vezina voting respectively in his first two seasons a Leaf, and his grit earned him the King Clancy Trophy in 2000.  Joseph stayed with Toronto for two more seasons, and while he was not as good, he was still in the top ten in Vezina Trophy voting.  Without Joseph, Toronto would arguably not have made the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002.  Despite his success, Joseph was traded to Detroit at the end of the 2001-02 Season but came back in 2008 for one final year.

With the Maple Leafs, Joseph had 138 Wins with a GAA of 2.49.

Bryan McCabe began his NHL career with the Islanders, Canucks, and Blackhawks, and looked to be moving from promising youngster to credible journeyman.  This would change in 2000 when he was traded again to Toronto for what would be far his most productive and longest stay.

McCabe had 29 Points in his first year in Toronto and had 43 the following year after finding a regular role on the power play.  In 2003-04, McCabe had a 53-Point year, and the Defenseman was named a Second Team All-Star and was fourth in Norris voting.  After the lockout, McCabe had a career-high 68 Points in 2005-06, with 57 the following year.  After his production dipped, McCabe was traded to Florida.

As a Maple Leaf, McCabe scored 297 Points with a Plus/Minus of +63.

In 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs chose Auston Matthews with the number one pick, the Californian-born hockey player who became an ice-sport superstar.  He was hyped to be great, and the Maple Leafs fans loved him immediately.

In the Center's first game, he scored four Goals, an unprecedented debut in the NHL.  Matthews won the Calder that year on a 40-Goal year, and he was first in Even Strength Goals (32).  To date, he has been a three-time All-Star and has never had a year where he lit the lamp less than 34 times.   Matthews had 47 Goals in 2019-20 and 41 in the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, which won him the Rocket Richard Trophy.  That was good but the American had another trick up his sleeve.

From the outset of the 2021-22 campaign, Matthews was lighting the lamp often and he broke Toronto's single-season record for Goals, netting 61 (with 106 Points in total), which also led the NHL.  Matthews was awarded the Hart Trophy for his work, as well as a second Rocket Richard, and his peers voted him as the MVP with the Lester B. Pearson Award.  Matthews was not as good in 2022-23 but was still at a superstar level with 85 Points.  Last season, Matthews won his third Rocket Richard Award with 69 Goals (his best to date), and was also the league-leader in Even Strength Goals with 51.  He was also fourth in Hart voting, and for the first time in his career was third in Selke voting.

As of this writing, Matthews is entering tenth season and has been their star since his debut.  Stanley Cups will be the only way to enter the stratosphere of this list, but we aren't counting him out of reaching the top without one.

Harry Lumley had already made history, when in 1944, at the age of 17, he became the youngest (and still is), Goalie to play in the NHL when he suited up for the Rangers.  Later, he won a Stanley Cup with Detroit, though was traded to Chicago in favor of Terry Sawchuk.  A few years later, Lumley was dealt again, this time to Toronto, where he had his best period in terms of individual performance.

The Leafs at this stage were not world-beaters, but Lumley was their bright spot.  He won the Vezina in 1953-54, where he also was named a First Team All-Star.  For the first time in his career, Lumley led the NHL in GAA (1.86) and was fifth in Hart voting.  He was as good the year after, again winning the GAA Title (1.91) and again earned First Team All-Star honors.  Lumley was also the runner-up for the Hart Trophy. 

After another season in Toronto, Lumley was traded back to Chicago, where he refused to report.  He was eventually traded to Boston, where he would finish his career.

Lumley was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980.

One of the most versatile players in the early days of Hockey, Reg Noble played in the first season of the NHL, where he helped take the Toronto Arenas to the Stanley Cup.  Noble was just getting started.

Noble played both at Center and Defense, and was an early star at two-way play.  He helped Toronto (now the St. Pats) win the Cup again in 1922, and he averaged 1.13 Points per Game for Toronto before he was sold to the Montreal Maroons in 1924.  He played until 1933 and was the last man standing from the NHL's inaugural season.

Noble was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

The Toronto Maple Leafs chose Czech Defenseman Tomas Kaberle in the Eighth Round of the 1996 NHL Draft, and it turned out to be a steal.

Kaberle first played for the Maple Leafs in the 1998-99 season, and before long, he was the team's top blueliner.  Kaberle scored at least 40 Points seven times for Toronto, peaking at 67 in 2005-06.  A four-time All-Star, Kaberle was excellent on the power play and had 520 Points over his tenure in the Maple Leafs.

Kaberle was traded to Boston during the 2010/11 Season and would win a Stanley Cup that year with the Bruins.  As a Leaf, Kaberle scored 520 Points.