The Toronto Maple Leafs have embarked on a bit of a radical plan this offseason. The hiring of John Chayka promised, if anything, a significant departure from previous administrations.
Thus far, Chayka has delivered on the promise to shake up the Leafs. While the shakeup has been mostly in the front office, the on-ice product also figures to be different.
But there’s a side to the Maple Leafs’ plan that no one is talking about. That side involves bringing in players with a winning pedigree.
The point came up during a discussion between Sean McIndoe and Jonas Siegel on the July 20 edition of The Athletic Hockey Show. In that discussion, McIndoe brought up the shakeup that Cliff Fletcher made when he took over the Maple Leafs in the early 90s.
During that span, Fletcher made an effort to bring in players from the two best teams in the NHL at the time: The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers.
The Flames and Oilers had won the last four Stanley Cups at the time. So, Fletcher wanted to bring in guys that knew what it took to win. The first massive strike was the Doug Gilmour trade in 1991. That trade also brought a mainstay on the Leafs’ defense, Jamie Macoun. Other notable players that joined the Maple Leafs following the dissolution of the Oilers were Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, and yes, Craig Berube.
That’s what Chayka is going for. He’s looking to bring in players from organizations that know what it takes to win. It nearly worked for Fletcher. The Leafs came close to the Stanley Cup Final twice. So, could the plan work this time?
Maple Leafs Targeting Players from NHL’s Best Organizations
It’s no secret that Chayka has been targeting players from the NHL’s best organizations. At the moment, those organizations are the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Edmonton Oilers.
The Leafs plucked Darren Raddysh and Nick Paul from the Lightning. Chayka signed Sergei Bobrovsky away from the Panthers, while also keeping Steven Lorentz and Anthony Stolarz in the fold. The addition of Colton Sissons promised to bring some of the Golden Knights’ ethos to Toronto.
The Maple Leafs also made a move they should have made last season, signing Jack Roslovic. Roslovic spent last season with Connor McDavid and the Oilers, after spending a season with the Carolina Hurricanes. Those are the sorts of additions that could make the hodgepodge Chayka has assembled a viable project.
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90s Team Got Closest to a Cup
The Maple Leafs of the early 90s managed to turn things around relatively quickly. The organization went from an abysmal era to several magical playoff runs. The 1993 and 1994 playoffs were the closest the Leafs ever really got to a legit chance at a Cup.
The eventual dissolution of that core and the revival of the early 2000s gave Maple Leafs fans a renewed sense of hope.
However, during the salary cap era, the Leafs haven’t been close. That could change as soon as this season. A lot of things will have to go right, nonetheless. And that’s the troubling part.
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