While it was a pleasure being involved in the list of the top 100 Toronto Maple Leafs of all time, it was also a bit of a revelation. There can be no questioning the pride and compete level of those 100, or the hundreds of others beyond them who’ve worn the Maple Leafs jersey for even one NHL game. But it also illustrates that for an Original Six NHL team, the Leafs lack the shine of being able to celebrate many NHL awards from those honoured in the top 100.
To be more precise, it is the second half of the Leafs’ first 100 years that severely lacks for NHL awards.
While the Leafs are celebrating their 100th anniversary, the first wave of six NHL expansion teams in 1967 are celebrating their 50th anniversaries as well. As we all know, that year coincides with the Leafs’ last Stanley Cup victory. And as a matter of fact, the Leafs are the only team of the 12 that suited up for 1967–68 season that have not even made it to a Stanley Cup Final since then, and this includes the California Seals and their relocations.
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OK, so we know that the Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup in the last 50 years. But how many major NHL award winners have they had over that span? The answer: One! Yes, one.
That one major NHL award came after the Leafs’ still-memorable playoff run in the spring of 1993 when Doug Gilmour won the Selke Trophy. (Gilmour was also runner-up to Mario Lemieux for the Hart Trophy that year.)
This awards drought is particularly interesting given the fact the Leafs currently well positioned to claim some hardware this coming off-season, with multiple candidates for a major award: the Calder Trophy. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner could both be among the top three in voting in a very strong rookie class that includes Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov and even a possible third Maple Leaf in William Nylander.
So now let’s play the “Last Time” game. Last time a Leaf won the Calder Trophy? Well, it was actually in 1966 when Brit Selby became the fourth Leaf to be named NHL rookie of the year over a span of nine seasons. (Frank Mahovlich in 1958, Dave Keon in 1961 and Kent Douglas in 1963 were the others.)
Give Wendel Clark an honorable mention here for an outstanding rookie season and finishing second to Gary Suter of Calgary for the Calder Trophy in 1986.
With that, let’s run down the laundry list of the Leafs’ awards famine:
HART MEMORIAL TROPHY: 2
Babe Pratt in 1944 and Ted Kennedy in 1955 are the only two Maple Leafs winners.
ART ROSS TROPHY: 0
No Leaf has won the Art Ross Trophy since it was introduced in 1948 to celebrate the NHL’s scoring leader. Leafs who led the NHL in scoring pre-Art Ross Trophy are Babe Dye (1925 and 1927), Ace Bailey (1929), Busher Jackson (1932) and Gordie Drillon (1938).
JAMES NORRIS TROPHY: 0
No Leaf winner here, either, since the trophy was was introduced in 1954. All five of the other Original Six NHL teams have had at least one winner of this award for top defenceman.
LADY BYNG TROPHY: 9
The Lady Byng Trophy being considered a “major” NHL award is always a source of debate. So, for the record, Alexander Mogilny did win it in 2003 with the Leafs. But, an argument for it being considered a major NHL award is “trumped” by the fact Mogilny chose to not attend the NHL Awards to receive what seemed a not so coveted honour. A member of the Leafs won it eight more times between 1932 and 1963.
WILLIAM M. JENNINGS TROPHY: 0
Yet again, no Leaf winners of this award. It was introduced in 1982 for the team with the lowest goals-against average.
VEZINA TROPHY: 6
Turk Broda won it in 1941 and 1948, Al Rollins won it in 1951 and Harry Lumley took it home in 1954. Johnny Bower won it 1961 and shared it with teammate Terry Sawchuk in 1965. In the latter instance, the always-magnanimous Bower got Sawchuck added to the award as he said he would not accept it without him.
CONN SMYTHE TROPHY: 1
Dave Keon was the winner in 1967 when the Leafs won that last Stanley Cup.
Since 1967, there have been a total of 300 slots on the official end-of-season NHL First All-Star Team. How many of those 300 slots have the Leafs filled? The answer: One! Just Borje Salming in 1977 was an official NHL First All-Star team selection.
So while it is exciting in the present to have multiple Leafs rookies garnering serious consideration for the Calder Trophy, the hope is that the old song “We’ve Only Just Begun” is appropriate for their long-term prospects.
Because there remains plenty of unused space in the Leafs’ trophy case (if such a thing actually exists) for this outstanding rookie class to fill at some point in their NHL careers.