The NHL celebrates the best of the last 25 years by unveiling the quarter-century teams from each of the 32 NHL franchises and the Arizona Coyotes.
Each team is represented by a first team and a second team, each made up of six players – three attackers, two defenders and a goalkeeper – who played for that franchise after January 1, 2000. The players from the first and second teams were selected by members of the national and local media, by NHL.com journalists who covered these teams as well as by former players.
The six players who were selected for the first team of each team will have their names placed on the ballot for the NHL All-Star Team of the Quarter Century, which will be determined by a vote of the fans who will begin in February.
We continue our countdown by revealing the first and second Toronto Maple Leafs teams.
Players are listed in alphabetical order:
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS QUARTER-CENTURY TEAMS
First team
Attackers
Mitch Marner
Auston Matthews
Mats Sundin
Defenders
Thomas Kaberle
Morgan Rielly
Guardian
Ed Belfour
Attackers: Matthews has already left his mark on Maple Leafs history with an array of individual trophies adorning his walls. He notably received the Calder Trophy in 2016 as NHL rookie of the year, as well as the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy awarded to the league’s top scorer in 2021 (41), 2022 (60) and 2024 ( 69). He was also awarded the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2022, and he became the first Maple Leafs player to achieve this honor in 67 years. He has scored 379 goals since the start of his career, and is 11 short of overtaking Darryl Sittler for second in team history. Toronto’s leader in this category is Sundin with 420 goals. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012, Sundin captained the team to its playoff victories between 2000 and 2004. He suited up for the Maple Leafs between 1994-95 and 2007-08, and in the part of the exercise of the first quarter of a century, he ranks second for Toronto with 575 points (244 goals, 331 assists). Marner, who grew up in the Toronto area and dreamed of wearing the Maple Leafs colors, is the leader in this category with 690 points (207 goals, 483 assists).
Defenders: Kaberle represented one of the great stories in the history of this franchise, going from an eighth round pick (204e overall) by the Maple Leafs at the 1996 draft Maple Leafs ranked second in team history in points by defensemen with 520 points (83 goals, 437 assists), trailing only Hall of Famer Borje Salming with 768 points. As for production since 1is January 2000, Rielly ranks first among Maple Leafs defensemen with 490 points (84 goals, 406 assists) ahead of Kaberle in second place with 458 points (72 goals, 386 assists). Rielly (830) and Kaberle (731) are the two defensemen who played the most games for Toronto during the first quarter of a century.
Guardian: Belfour’s time with the Maple Leafs was notable if not long, as he played for Toronto for only three seasons (2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06). During that span, he posted 17 shutouts, the most among all goaltenders who played for Toronto in the first quarter-century. He also ranks second with 93 wins since 2000, behind Frederik Andersen (149), who played 98 more games with the Maple Leafs.
Second team
Attackers
Phil Kessel
William Nylander
John Tavares
Defenders
Bryan McCabe
Dion Phaneuf
Guardian
Curtis Joseph
Attackers: Toronto’s depth on offense is highlighted by Nylander being on the second team. Only Marner, Matthews (672) and Sundin have more points than Nylander in a Maple Leafs uniform since 1is January 2000 (571 points; 240 goals, 331 assists). Kessel’s six-year stint with Toronto between 2009 and 2015 was marked by consistency, reaching the 20-goal plateau in each season, reaching 30 goals four times. He accumulated a total of 394 points with Toronto (181 goals, 213 assists). Tavares, who signed a seven-year contract worth $77 million with the Maple Leafs on 1is July 2018 after spending his entire career with the New York Islanders, loved playing for his childhood team, and ranks fifth among Maple Leafs scorers (203) in the first quarter century.
Defenders: Both McCabe and Phaneuf brought intensity and muscle to the Toronto team, and were very difficult to face at both ends of the ice. Only Rielly has scored more goals than McCabe (83) over the past quarter-century, and the latter has added 214 assists for a total of 297 points. His +63 differential gives him the second rank among Toronto defensemen during this period, behind TJ Brodie’s +70. Phaneuf was appointed on 18e captain of the Maple Leafs on June 14, 2010, as he succeeded Sundin, and he held that role until he was traded to the Ottawa Senators on February 9, 2016. His 45 goals with Toronto place him tied for fourth with Jake Gardiner among defensemen over the last quarter century.
Guardian: Joseph played just two seasons with the Maple Leafs over the past quarter century before leaving the team as a free agent in 2002, but he still posted 67 wins and 10 shutouts with Toronto over that period. period. He is also the leader in playoff victories for the Maple Leafs over the last 25 years with 17, seven more than Andersen in second place.
