We have done this for NBA Tuesday and NFL Thursday, so it’s time to do it for NHL Saturday, too: the best players in the history of each current professional hockey franchise in North America, based on Point Shares accrued while with the team in question. We’re starting with the oldest existing organization in the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and we will continue working our way through to the youngest team. Enjoy!

[Editor’s Note: We may or may not do this on MLB Monday, eventually, depending on how we feel when we reach the end of the current awards miniseries. We want to move away from “listicles” into more, in-depth analyses like the ones we do occasionally on either players or teams. Thanks for your patience.]

No. 10: Félix Potvin, G—70 PS (1991-1998)

It’s symbolic he is the first person on our first list, as his sweater was the first NHL one we ever bought (on a trip to Toronto in July 1996). We still own it, by the way, and it still fits! But we digress: the 31st pick overall in the 1990 Draft, he was our pick for the 1996 Vezina. He also topped the NHL in GAA once (1993) and wins twice (1997, 1998). However, his inability to win consistently in the postseason saw him get traded away.

No. 9: Tomáš Kaberle, D—81 PS (1998-2011)

One of many modern Maple Leafs who won a Cup elsewhere (2011), he was an 8th-round pick who posted 23:51 ATOI over the course of his Toronto tenure. He put up 9.7 PS twice (2003, 2006) while with the Leafs, and he added 28 points in 77 career postseason games. His career scoring high also came in 2006, when he contributed 67 points (9G, 58A) in 27:58 ATOI. At age 27, that was definitely his peak, but it was a good one.

No. 8: Darryl Sittler, C—82 PS (1970-1982)

The No. 8 overall pick in the 1970 Draft, he made 1 All-Star team (1978) in 11-plus seasons with the Maple Leafs. That same season, he also led the NHL in shots on goal (311). He was a strong postseason contributor, too with 65 points in 64 playoff games, overall, with Toronto. His career high in PS came in 1978 (12.2), perhaps no surprise considering the information above. Alas, he was traded away eventually at age 31.

No. 7: Dave Keon, C—83 PS (1960-1975)

The first Hall of Fame player on this list, he spent 15 seasons with the Leafs, winning the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. He also won the Conn Smythe vote in 1967 as well, one year before we started our analyses of the award. In addition, he was the Calder winner in 1961, so clearly, he was a pretty good player for his era. Yet he made only 2 All-Star teams (1962, 1971); he did lead the NHL in shorties twice (1969, 1971).

No. 6: Auston Matthews, C—87 PS (2016-present)

It’s impressive when someone makes a list for a franchise like this while still only 26 years old as of the most recent season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, he has been a revelation: Calder winner (2017), Hart winner (2022), 3-time goal-scoring champ (2021, 2022, 2024), and 2-time All Star (2021-2022). His 47 points (23G, 24A) in 53 playoff games may seem like a disappointment, but he can’t do it all alone, can he?

No. 5: Johnny Bower, G—93 PS (1958-1970)

The goaltender behind the 4 Cups won in the 1960s, he was acquired at age 34 (!) after 77 games over 3 seasons previously with the New York Rangers. What a blunder! He’s in the Hall of Fame, of course, winner of 2 Vezinas (1961, 1965) and a member of the 1961 All-Star team. He topped the NHL in save percentage 6 times and in GAA 3 times, while also topping the league in wins once. Overall, he started in 6 Cup Finals.

No. 4: Börje Salming, D—109 PS (1973-1989)

A 6-time All Star, he is in the Hall of Fame after spending the first 16 years of his career in Toronto. In his first 7 seasons, he finished in the Top 5 every year for the Norris vote, despite never actually winning it from the voters (or us, for that matter). In 3 straight seasons (1977-1979), he posted double-digit PS marks, and he posted 49 points (12G, 37A) in 81 career playoff games with the Maple Leafs. Alas, he never won a Cup, obvi.

No. 3: Tim Horton, D—114 PS (1949-1970)

He played the first 21 seasons of his 24-year NHL career with the Leafs, actually dying in a car crash midseason in February 1974 while with the Buffalo Sabres—after playing his final game in Toronto. He’s also better known, probably, for the restaurant chain he co-founded that bears his name. He was on all 4 Cup champs of the 1960s, is in the Hall of Fame, and was a 6-time All Star. No way we could say it all here.

No. 2: Mats Sundin, C—114 PS (1994-2008)

The No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 Draft by Quebec, he spent the bulk of his career in Toronto, where he made his only 2 All-Star teams (2002, 2004). He’s in the Hall of Fame for being a profoundly impactful player: he topped the league once for game-winning goals (2004) and posted 987 points in 981 games with the Leafs. Why did the Nordiques let him go after 4 years? Good question. He was a very good player from start to end.

No. 1: Turk Broda, G—120 PS (1936-1952)

We’re going way old school here for the best player in Toronto history: 5 Cup titles (1942, 1947-1949, 1951), 3 All-Star nods (1941, 1942, 1948), and 2 Vezina trophies (1941, 1948). Naturally, he’s in the Hall of Fame. He led the NHL in wins twice (1941, 1948) and GAA twice (1941, 1948), as well. His 60-40 record in the postseason says a lot about his contributions to the Leafs’ Original Six success. He was a big-game goalie.