Grab Bag: We're back it's weird

In the return of the Friday Grab Bag:
- Wait how does this work again?
- The one COVID-related change we should "forget" to undo
- An obscure player who still holds a surprising record
- Comedy stars
- And a YouTube look back at a Leafs trade that contains a major twist ending...

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A brief history of the Maple Leafs trading for defensemen

The Maple Leafs pulled off a major trade on Monday, acquiring Jake Muzzin from the Kings for a first-round pick and two prospects. For the most part, early reactions were positive for Toronto and the deal undeniably makes them better in the short term.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the move will work out in the long run. That’s the funny thing about trades; you can never be quite sure how they’ll be viewed in hindsight. That can be especially true when you’re dealing for help on the blueline, where finding the right fit for the right player can be tricky even if the price tag makes sense.

Luckily, the Leafs have plenty of experience in this area. Today, let’s crack open the history books and look back on the last 30 years of the Toronto Maple Leafs trading for blueline help. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list of each and every defenceman the team has acquired during that span (as much as I’m looking forward to all the comments along the lines of “Ummm, no Gord Kruppke?”), but we’ll cover off most of the bigger names.

Some of these moves worked. Some of them didn’t. Some of them were just confusing. And someday down the road, we’ll be able to look back and know which category the Muzzin deal belongs in.

The blockbusters

“Blockbuster” is admittedly subjective, and there may be other deals on this list that you’d argue belong in this category. But in the modern history of Leafs’ blueline deals, these three stand out. And maybe somewhat surprisingly, from a Leafs’ perspective, they mostly hold up well in hindsight.

The trade: On January 31, 2010, the Leafs sent Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers to Calgary for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie.

The situation: This was the first full season of the Brian Burke era and it was not going well. With the Leafs near the bottom of the league and without their own first-round pick, Burke pulled off a seven-player swap with the Flames that was built around Phaneuf, a 24-year-old who was less than two years removed from being the Norris Trophy runner-up.

The verdict: At the time, the consensus was that the Leafs had pulled off a robbery. In hindsight, not so much, as Phaneuf never lived up to the franchise-savior hype that greeted him in Toronto. Still, he was the Leafs’ captain and top defenceman for most of the next seven years and none of the players they gave up for him amounted to major losses. This trade still looks like a win on balance, even if it never came close to matching expectations.

The trade: On March 3, 2004, the Leafs acquired Brian Leetch and a fourth-round pick from the Rangers for prospects Maxim Kondratiev and Jarkko Immonen, plus a first and a second.

The situation: This was John Ferguson Jr.’s first major trade as Leafs GM and it was an all-in move at the deadline. The 2003-04 Leafs were very good and very old and with the lockout looming they represented what looked like the last chance to win a Cup during the Pat Quinn era. With his window open for a big move, Ferguson went out and landed the biggest name available in the 36-year-old Leetch.

The verdict: Leetch debuted with a three-assist night and instantly looked like the team’s best blueliner. But the Leafs didn’t win the Cup that year, falling in the second round to the Flyers. And while Leetch had a year left on his contract, it was wiped out by the lockout, so this became an expensive short-term rental. Still, none of the picks or prospects amounted to much of anything, so it’s best viewed as a smart gamble that just didn’t pay off.

The trade: On November 10, 1990, the Leafs sent forwards Ed Olczyk and Mark Osborne to the Jets for Paul Fenton and Dave Ellett.

The situation: This was the Leafs hitting the detonate button on a disastrous start to the season. A year after generating some optimism with a .500 finish, the Leafs were a 2-15-1 laughingstock when they pulled the trigger on a four-player blockbuster.

The verdict: Ellett didn’t come cheap, as Olczyk had been the Leafs best forward during his three seasons in Toronto and had only just turned 24. But while he’d play well in Winnipeg and for another decade around the NHL, the deal still worked out well enough for the Leafs as Ellett became their top blueliner for most of the next seven years and was a key piece of the Fletcher/Burns/Gilmour-era resurgence.

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A look back at the classic Kings/Leafs game seven, 25 years later

The Stanley Cup final got underway last night, with the Vegas Golden Knights making their first appearance in franchise history. That’s not bad for a team that didn’t even have a roster one year ago. And it might suggest that making it all the way to the final isn’t all that big of a challenge.

As a counter-point, we have the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs, of course, haven’t been to a Cup final since 1967, a fact that serves as a source of angst for Toronto fans and a source of non-stop punchlines for just about everyone else. But while the team has occasionally been known to take a decade off every now and then, there have been times when the Leafs came close to ending their drought. And they were never closer than they were exactly a quarter-century ago.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of one of the most memorable games in modern Maple Leafs history: Game 7 of the 1993 Western Conference final against the Los Angeles Kings. The game took place on a Saturday night at Maple Leaf Gardens, and saw the Leafs face Wayne Gretzky and the Kings for the right to play the Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup.

It did not go well for Toronto, with the Kings earning a 5–4 win to punch their ticket to the first final in franchise history. You knew that, of course. But to mark today’s anniversary, let’s look back at that game with 10 fun facts about that historic night. Well, “fun” here will be relative — if you’re a Maple Leafs fan, some of these memories won’t be all that much fun at all. But you’re used to that, so let’s dive in.

1. The Hockey Night in Canada broadcast started with the single greatest montage in hockey history

The pregame montage is a tricky thing. You want to get fans hyped for the game they’re about to see, but not go so far that you oversell it. You want to set a dramatic tone without drifting into the histrionic or maudlin. You want to relive all the key moments in the series so far, highlighting the main characters and unresolved storylines. You want, if at all possible, to use the theme music from the move Hoosiers.

Some montages work, some don’t. The one that ran in the moments before Game 7 was a masterpiece of the genre. So before we get into what happened that night, let’s set the stage:

OK, I’m ready to start flipping over cars. Let’s get to the game. (Spoiler alert: This is about where the good news ends for Leafs fans.)

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92-93 Trivia: The answers

Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations to General Borschevsky, eyebleaf, The Meatriarchy and mf37 for being the first to come up with various correct answers. (If you missed the original post, click here.)

#1 Who scored the goal that gave Gilmour a record-tying sixth assist in one game?

Good old Dave Ellett. Joe Bowen's call was classic (aren't they all?)

#2 In the late stages of game two against the Wings, and well on their way to a 2-0 deficit in the series, the Leafs showed some fight during a mini-brawl that featured Doug Gilmour taking down Bob Probert and Bob Cole's famous call "and oh, we're going to have a donnybrook here". Which Leaf threw the series of sucker punches that started the fight, and who was his (deserving) target?

It was the normally mild-mannered Felix Potvin, who drilled superpest Dino Ciccarelli to touch off the rumble. This was the first indication that Felix wasn't the pussycat we all thought he was. Of course, years later Ron Hextall would confirm this theory the hard way.

#3 After Borschevsky scores the goal to eliminate Detroit, who's the guy going crazy with the water bottle on the bench?

It's then-waterboy and current equipment manager Brian Papineau.

#4 Wendel Clark famously beat Bob Probert in a pair of fights during a December game at the Gardens. Other than the fights, what else was notable about that game for Probert?

It was Probert's first game back in Canada after a lengthy time when he couldn't come north because of his legal troubles. After this game, Probert immediately sent his lawyers back to court to ask that the ban be reinstated.

#5 Who was Pat Burns referring to when he made his infamous "I wouldn't know him if I ran over him with my truck" quip? Bonus question: what was that person's comeback?

Burns was referring to Bill Berg, who had just been claimed off waivers by the Islanders. The story goes that when Berg arrived in Toronto, he was asked what he planned to do first and replied "Probably find out where Pat Burns parking spot is".

#6 What classic Canadian rock song greeted the Maple Leafs before their first home playoff game in three years?

The Boys Are Back in Town, by Thin Lizzy. If the boys want to fight, you better let them.

(Update: This was also a trick question, since apparently Thin Lizzy aren't actually Canadian.)

#7 The day after Wendel Clark beat his face in, Marty McSorely appeared on the cover of the Toronto Star with a massive shiner. According to the headline next to the photo, who was "in the hangar, awaiting orders"?

Who else would be in the hangar but The Bomber?

#8 Which media member was honored with their own novelty rap song? Bonus question: according to the lyrics, "Lackawack, Cheektowaga, all through Buffalo, he's know as the ..." what?

It was play-by-play man Joe Bowen. In addition to referring to him as "the mic commando", the song had a chorus that focused on Bowen's call of a certain scrap.

#9 The Leafs used three different artists as anthem singers during the 1993 playoffs. Two regulars who alternated, and a third artist who made one disastrous appearance. Name all three artists.

I have to admit, I think I originally had this one wrong. I could have sworn that the Barenaked Ladies sang the anthem before Game Six of the Wings series. But I think I'm mixing up my anthems and General Borschevsky is right -- it was actually Pat Burns' favorite country band, the Good Brothers. In any event, they did a horrible meandering version of the anthem that killed the crowd and helped the Leafs get blown out.

The two good singers were Michael Burgess and John McDermott, although I would have also accepted "The guy from Les Mis" and "The Irish guy".

#10 Prior to Leafs/Kings game seven, CBC played an awesome montage of highlights from the series. The montage was set to the theme song from which sports movie?

Confession: I love sports montages. Back in the 80s and early 90s they were everywhere, and I loved it. These days you don't see them as often (although the amateurs on youtube are bringing them back). This one was one of my all-time favorites.

Anyways, the song here was theme from Hoosiers. You can hear it in this otherwise random youtube video starting at about the 1:15 mark.