Borje Salming was not just one of the first hockey players from Scandinavia to play in the NHL, but the Swedish Defenseman was the first from his region to emerge as a superstar on the NHL level.

Salming signed with Toronto in 1973, but not much was expected as the NHL and North America generally viewed Europeans as soft and unable to maintain the rigors of their league.  Salming immediately proved the naysayers wrong,  scoring 39 Points as a rookie and finishing fifth for the Norris.

In the six years that followed, Salming was either a Second Team or First All-Star, and while he was never a Norris Trophy winner, he was never lower than fourth in the voting.  From 1976-77 to 1979-80, Salming netted at least 70 Points, and he forever changed the perception of what Europeans could accomplish in the NHL.

Salming played with Toronto until the 1988-89 season, and he had one final year in the NHL as a Detroit Red Wing.  With the Leafs, Salming played 1,099 Games, scoring 787 Points. 

Salming’s overall play in the NHL laid the groundwork that other Swedish and European players followed.  He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996, and his name was honored at Air Canada Center in 2006.  Ten years later, his #21 was officially retired by the team. 

A strong argument can be made that the first true power forward in hockey was Charlie Conacher, and at the very least, he was one of the first to define the role.

Conacher was a dynamo in junior, leading the Toronto Marlboros to two Memorial Cup wins (1928 & 1929).  Conacher stayed in Toronto as a pro, signing with the Maple Leafs, and he rapidly became a star, scoring a goal in the opening game of the 1929-30 season.  

The Canadian earned the nickname of the “Big Bomber," using his strength and powerful shot to terrorize opposing netminders.  Taking Toronto to a Stanley Cup in 1932, Conacher became the first player to lead the NHL in Goals five times, and he was also a First Team All-Star three times and a Second Team All-Star twice.  Conacher was also the runner-up for the Hart Trophy in 1934-35 and was a two-time scoring champion.  Considered to be the top Right Wing in the first half of the 1930s, his bruising style caught up with him, and injuries piled up.

Conacher was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, and as a Maple Leaf, he scored nearly a Point per Game (324 Points in 328 Games).  

Conacher entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, and he was part of the group that had a banner honored by the Leafs in 1998.  His #9 (along with Ted Kennedy) was officially retired by Toronto in 2016.

Tim Horton played his first 20 Seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where his physical strength and toughness set him apart from the other Defenseman.

Horton debuted in 1950 and was a Second Team All-Star in 1952-53.  He could drop the gloves and intimidate when needed, though he was not a player who drew penalties, often considering his physical style of play.  Horton had a phenomenal decade in the 1960s, where he anchored Toronto to four Stanley Cups, was a First Team All-Star twice, and a Second Team All-Star three times.  Horton finished in the top-four in Norris voting six times and was the runner-up twice. 

In 13 different years in Toronto, Horton was in the top ten in Defensive Point Shares, and he led the league in that advanced metric twice (1953-54 & 1962-63).  As of this writing, he is seventh all-time in DPS.

Horton was traded to the New York Rangers in 1970, and he later played for Pittsburgh and Buffalo, where his career ended following his death from a car accident.  He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977, with the Leafs honoring him in 1995.  His number #7, which he had sometime after fellow honoree, King Clancy, was officially retired in 2016

Turk Broda played his entire NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with all due respect to everyone else who wore the blue and white in between the pipes, it is Broda who is the most important. 

Broda’s professional career began with the Detroit Olympics in the minor leagues, but his path to the NHL did not lead him to stay in the Motor City.  The Olympics sold his contract to his hometown Maple Leafs, and he would become Toronto’s starting Goalie going into the 1936-37 season.

The Torontonian proved to be a top Goalie, and in the 1940-41 season, Broda won his first Vezina and would lead the Maple Leafs to a Stanley Cup win the year after.  It was a special championship in sports, as the Maple Leafs became the first team to overcome a 3-0 Finals deficit to win the title.  Broda’s work on the ice took a two-and-a-half-year detour due to World War II, but he returned better than ever.

Broda led Toronto to four Stanley Cups (1947, 1948, 1949 & 1951) in five years, winning a second Vezina in 1948.  Age caught up to Broda in 1951, as he played in only 31 Games, and after appearing in only one contest in 1951-52, he retired from hockey with a career record of 304-222-102.

Broda was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967, and in 1995, his banner was hung to the ACC's rafters.   Toronto officially retired his number #1 in 2016.