The Toronto Maple Leafs accomplished a rare feat Wednesday night.
Not only did they beat the Boston Bruins in blowout fashion, they chased 2005 first-round pick Tuukka Rask from the net.
The Bruins goaltender, who has developed into an elite player, has been the poster boy for the “one that got away” in Toronto after the Leafs (a.k.a. John Ferguson Jr.) dealt him for Andrew Raycroft in the summer of 2006.
It’s safe to say that one didn’t work out for Toronto.
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With that in mind, here’s a look at 10 other prominent former Maple Leafs and how they’re performing with their current teams in 2014-15.
Note: Expect this series to appear regularly throughout the 2014-15 season focusing on Canadian NHL clubs.
Dave Bolland, Florida Panthers: The Florida Panthers outbid the Leafs to land Bolland as a free agent — and Toronto was fortunate they did. Mike Santorelli has proven to be an upgrade for a fraction of the price while Bolland has played in just four games with Florida this season, registering no points. The veteran centre is currently on injured reserve with a suspected groin injury and is expected to return to the lineup on Florida’s upcoming road trip.
Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders: The spelling of his first name may have changed, but Kulemin’s game hasn’t changed much since he left Toronto as a free agent this past summer. While his lone 30-goal season remains an outlier, Kulemin can still be a solid forward that contributes in other areas of the ice. He hasn’t done much goal-scoring in Long Island, but he ranks seventh on the team in total points with two goals and six assists in 15 games. He ended a six-game pointless slump with two points in Tuesday’s win over Colorado.
Mikhail Grabovski, New York Islanders: The Leafs couldn’t find a role for Grabovski in his final season in Toronto, but he’s been a decent second-line scorer since his departure – first for Washington a year ago and now this year with the Islanders. Kulemin’s former linemate is in a bit of a slump right now, however. Grabovski has just one point since Oct. 28, but overall he has a healthy seven points in 13 games this season. Grabovski also had a brief stint on the injured list after suffering a concussion in late October. Hopefully he brings his brain on the Islanders’ next road trip.
Clarke MacArthur, Ottawa Senators: MacArthur left the Leafs on a sour note, criticizing head coach Randy Carlyle after departing as a free agent and finding a home in Ottawa. After scoring 24 goals last season, MacArthur is off to a fine start this year, leading Ottawa in scoring with seven goals and four assists in 15 games. Considering the strong fit it was no surprise when Ottawa handed the veteran forward a five-year extension.
Carl Gunnarsson, St. Louis Blues: The Leafs shipped Dion Phaneuf’s longtime defence partner to St. Louis in a deal to bring in Roman Polak. So far, the Leafs shouldn’t have any regrets about that one. Gunnarsson was sidelined at the start of the season while recovering from off-season hip surgery. He debuted with St. Louis on Oct. 28, but says he’s still adjusting to his surgically repaired hip. He’s playing just over 14:00 minutes per night and has one assist in the eight games he’s played for St. Louis.
Ben Scrivens, Edmonton Oilers: After a solid stint following a mid-season trade from Los Angeles to Edmonton last year, Scrivens’ play has been streaky in 2014-15. Scrivens has posted a .900 save percentage (it was .916 last year with the Oilers) with a 2.93 goals-against average. He hasn’t registered a victory since Oct. 27 and that was at the tail end of a stretch where Scrivens posted four straight wins.
John-Michael Liles, Carolina Hurricanes: Liles hasn’t been an impact player for quite some time. The 33-year-old defenceman has just one point in eight games for a lousy Hurricanes team. He ranks fifth among Carolina defencemen in average ice time. His contract doesn’t expire until the end of the 2015-16 season, which is the same four-year deal former Leafs GM Brian Burke handed him in January 2012.
Jay McClement, Carolina Hurricanes: Carlyle’s usage of McClement last season was hard to understand. Despite an obvious dropoff in play, there was a point in the season when McClement was playing at the expense of a young player such as Peter Holland. Now, the veteran forward is playing a bottom-six role in Carolina, averaging 16:00 minutes per game while spending some time on the penalty kill. He has just two points in 14 games, but the Hurricanes couldn’t have expected much offensive contribution from the 31-year-old. On a side note, what’s with Carolina’s fascination with ex-Leafs? There has to be a better team to mimic.
Joe Colborne, Calgary Flames: The Leafs never gave Colborne a chance to develop at the NHL level so they dealt him to Calgary before the start of last season for a mid-round draft pick because they figured they would lose him on waivers. It wasn’t the best asset management considering they kept face-punchers Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren instead. Since going to Calgary, Colborne has gotten a greater opportunity and was off to the best offensive start of his career before suffering an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old, who was part of the Tomas Kaberle trade with Boston, had eight points – all assists — in his first 11 games before landing on injured reserve. His return date remains unclear.
Luke Schenn, Philadelphia Flyers: Getting James van Riemsdyk in a trade for Schenn was the parting gift of the Brian Burke era. Schenn has just never lived up to the promise he displayed as a junior and in his rookie season with Toronto. He was averaging 17:00 minutes per game before he got hurt last weekend after being hit into the end boards by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon. The Flyers have announced that Schenn will be out for two weeks. He has two points and a minus-5 rating in 14 games this year.