Leafs Centennial Plans Revealed

[hockeyfan1]

I'm expecting  the Royal Canadian Mint in collaboration with Canada Post to come up with a Toronto Maple Leafs Centennial celebration set.


They did one for the Montreal Canadiens 100th in 2009.  It was beautifully crafted and a pleasure to own, (for diehard Habs fans, that is), even for the casual collector.

 

[Boston Leaf]

Jason Kay ‏@JKTHN
The @MapleLeafs will be naming the franchise's Top 100 Players of All-Time over the next three months. Who would you put No. 1?

Well this will be very interesting. Has any other team put together an "official" list like this before?

Also, and I'm serious, does Phil Kessel crack the top-100?

Absolutely Kessel does. prob top 50

 

[ZBBM]

You would think so. He should probably be in the top half, maybe even top quarter of the list. But at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if he was kept off it entirely. Guess it really depends on which people are putting it together.

I would hope it would be people who can put aside narratives enough that they properly value the player's contribution to the team on the ice. I imagine, if they do an actually ranked top 100 rather than just a list of 100 players, he'll come in somewhere in the 25-50 range.

Putting aside "narratives" (whatever that means), and w/o reopening old arguments, don't you think his tenure as a Leaf is a little short (and the fact that the team had almost no success during it) to make his selection to such a list a slam-dunk?

 

[Coco-puffs]

You would think so. He should probably be in the top half, maybe even top quarter of the list. But at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if he was kept off it entirely. Guess it really depends on which people are putting it together.

I would hope it would be people who can put aside narratives enough that they properly value the player's contribution to the team on the ice. I imagine, if they do an actually ranked top 100 rather than just a list of 100 players, he'll come in somewhere in the 25-50 range.

Putting aside "narratives" (whatever that means), and w/o reopening old arguments, don't you think his tenure as a Leaf is a little short (and the fact that the team had almost no success during it) to make his selection to such a list a slam-dunk?

He's 49th All Time in Games Played as a Leaf.  His tenure wasn't that short, but yes, the lack of success could hurt him.  I don't see how he doesn't make the Top 100 unless a lot of bias comes into play.

 

[groundskeeper willie]

I wonder if they'll make it easier on themselves and only include retired players

 

[ZBBM]

You would think so. He should probably be in the top half, maybe even top quarter of the list. But at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if he was kept off it entirely. Guess it really depends on which people are putting it together.

I would hope it would be people who can put aside narratives enough that they properly value the player's contribution to the team on the ice. I imagine, if they do an actually ranked top 100 rather than just a list of 100 players, he'll come in somewhere in the 25-50 range.

Putting aside "narratives" (whatever that means), and w/o reopening old arguments, don't you think his tenure as a Leaf is a little short (and the fact that the team had almost no success during it) to make his selection to such a list a slam-dunk?

He's 49th All Time in Games Played as a Leaf.  His tenure wasn't that short, but yes, the lack of success could hurt him.  I don't see how he doesn't make the Top 100 unless a lot of bias comes into play.

Thanks for that, I stand corrected -- didn't know he was that high on the list.

 

[bustaheims]

Putting aside "narratives" (whatever that means), and w/o reopening old arguments, don't you think his tenure as a Leaf is a little short (and the fact that the team had almost no success during it) to make his selection to such a list a slam-dunk?

6 seasons isn't that short of a tenure, really. Gilmour, for instance, was only a member of the Leafs for 4 full and 2 partial seasons, and he's basically a lock for the list. As for the team's success . . . I don't think that should be held against him. One player can only do so much. It's not his fault the team was built/coached/managed poorly. He did his job, and, for the most part, he did it exceptionally well.

 

[Coco-puffs]

I wonder if they'll make it easier on themselves and only include retired players

Good question.  After looking at some of the stats, you'd have to give consideration to quite a few players people may hold their nose at.... this one in particular may drive people nuts if he's named to the list:

Dion Phaneuf:

- Captain of the team
- 20th in GP among defensemen
- 25th in P/GP among defensemen (7 players ahead of him in that ranking didn't even play 100 games with the Leafs)

 

[Boston Leaf]

As long as Ron Ellis gets his due respect I am good

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Good question.  After looking at some of the stats, you'd have to give consideration to quite a few players people may hold their nose at.... this one in particular may drive people nuts if he's named to the list:

Dion Phaneuf:

- Captain of the team
- 20th in GP among defensemen
- 25th in P/GP among defensemen (7 players ahead of him in that ranking didn't even play 100 games with the Leafs)

Phaneuf being on the list shouldn't be that controversial. It's not like they're going to be able to come up with 100 players who were first line forwards, top pair defenceman, or starting goalies. There's going to be players with flaws there.

 

[Coco-puffs]

As long as Ron Ellis gets his due respect I am good

Absolute Lock.  There is no debate.  One of only 5 players to play 1000 games as a Leaf, and they are all going to be in the Top 100 (Armstrong, Horton, Salming, Keon, Ellis)

 

[bustaheims]

Dion Phaneuf:

- Captain of the team
- 20th in GP among defensemen
- 25th in P/GP among defensemen (7 players ahead of him in that ranking didn't even play 100 games with the Leafs)

Phaneuf is a trickier one for me, because it never felt like he had any real standout seasons as a Leaf the same way someone like Kessel did. He was a fairly consistent player here, also marred by being on some poor teams. He might be in the lower end of the top 100 - in large part because of how difficult it really is to find 100 players who were with the team for long enough to really make a mark in a Leafs' uniform. Someone like Mike Gartner, for instance, was an exceptional performer throughout his career, but his brief tenure as a Leaf wasn't particularly memorable.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Here's a good one, who goes higher: McCabe or Phaneuf?

 

[Coco-puffs]

Good question.  After looking at some of the stats, you'd have to give consideration to quite a few players people may hold their nose at.... this one in particular may drive people nuts if he's named to the list:

Dion Phaneuf:

- Captain of the team
- 20th in GP among defensemen
- 25th in P/GP among defensemen (7 players ahead of him in that ranking didn't even play 100 games with the Leafs)

Phaneuf being on the list shouldn't be that controversial. It's not like they're going to be able to come up with 100 players who were first line forwards, top pair defenceman, or starting goalies. There's going to be players with flaws there.

I wholeheartedly agree, Carlton.  I was just pointing out some people aren't going to be happy about him being named. 

 

[bustaheims]

Here's a good one, who goes higher: McCabe or Phaneuf?

I'd say McCabe - his Leaf career was more impressive than Phaneuf's.

 

[Coco-puffs]

Here's a good one, who goes higher: McCabe or Phaneuf?

McCabe by a landslide IMO:

9th in P/GP
11th in GP
1st in PPG
(all above among defensemen)

And we haven't even talked about Playoffs.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

I'd agree that McCabe should be higher. I wonder if Phaneuf's captaincy will bump him up a little higher though.

 

[Coco-puffs]

Someone like Mike Gartner, for instance, was an exceptional performer throughout his career, but his brief tenure as a Leaf wasn't particularly memorable.

Yeah, he only played 130 games as a Leaf... still scored 53 goals in that time though.  If he's on the list, then I don't see how you don't have JvR on the list:

Jvr 250 GP, 89 G, 89 A, 178 Pts, 0.712 P/GP
Gartner 130 GP, 53 G, 33 A, 86 Pts, 0.662 P/GP

But, one wonders if they consider ONLY their time with the Leafs, or just the best 100 players to ever suit up as a Leaf?

 

[CarltonTheBear]

But, one wonders if they consider ONLY their time with the Leafs, or just the best 100 players to ever suit up as a Leaf?

You're going to have to put a major emphasis on just their time as a Leaf. Brian Leetch is the best defenceman I ever saw play in a Leafs uniform, but he's not going to be on the list.

 

[Kaberle15]

Kaberle is a lock on that list too