In the middle of Norm Ullman’s 13^th season with the Detroit Red Wings, the Center was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of an eight-player transaction.  Ullman would show that he still had a lot left despite his veteran status.

Ullman scored at least 50 Points in his first five seasons with the Leafs, and it was in Toronto where he posted a career-high with 85 in 1970-71.  An All-Star twice as a Maple Leaf, the durable Canadian remained one of the better Centers in hockey until his play dropped off in the 1974-75 Season.  He signed with Edmonton of the WHA after that year.

With the Maple Leafs, Ullman had 471 Points and averaged .88 Points per Game, .01 more than he did as a Red Wing.  Ullman was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

Curtis Joseph should be better known for his stellar season early in his career with St. Louis, where he was a three-time leader in Goalie Point Shares, but many remember him more for his time in Toronto, his third NHL team.

Signing as a Free Agent in 1998, “Cujo” was an instant fan favorite in Toronto, and he instantly made the Maple Leafs better.  Joseph was second and third in Vezina voting, respectively, in his first two seasons as a Leaf, and his grit earned him the King Clancy Trophy in 2000.  Joseph stayed with Toronto for two more seasons, and while he was not as good, he was still in the top ten in Vezina Trophy voting.  Without Joseph, Toronto would arguably not have made the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002.  Despite his success, Joseph was traded to Detroit at the end of the 2001-02 Season but came back in 2008 for one final year.

With the Maple Leafs, Joseph had 138 Wins with a GAA of 2.49.

Bryan McCabe began his NHL career with the Islanders, Canucks, and Blackhawks, and looked to be moving from promising youngster to credible journeyman.  This would change in 2000 when he was traded again to Toronto for what would be by far his most productive and most extended stay.

McCabe had 29 Points in his first year in Toronto and had 43 the following year after finding a regular role on the power play.  In 2003-04, McCabe had a 53-Point year, and the Defenseman was named a Second Team All-Star and was fourth in Norris voting.  After the lockout, McCabe had a career-high 68 Points in 2005-06, with 57 the following year.  After his production dipped, McCabe was traded to Florida.

As a Maple Leaf, McCabe scored 297 Points with a Plus/Minus of +63.

In 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs chose Auston Matthews with the number one pick, and the Californian-born hockey player became an instant ice-sport superstar.  He was hyped to be great, and the Maple Leafs fans loved him immediately.

In the Center's first game, he scored four Goals, an unprecedented debut in the NHL.  Matthews won the Calder that year on a 40-Goal year, and he was first in Even Strength Goals (32).  To date, he has been a three-time All-Star and has never had a year in which he lit the lamp fewer than 33 times.   Matthews had 47 Goals in 2019-20 and 41 in the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign, which won him the Rocket Richard Trophy.  That was good but the American had another trick up his sleeve.

From the outset of the 2021-22 campaign, Matthews was lighting the lamp often, and he broke Toronto's single-season record for Goals, netting 61 (with 106 Points in total), which also led the NHL.  Matthews was awarded the Hart Trophy for his work, a second Rocket Richard, and his peers voted him the MVP with the Lester B. Pearson Award.  Matthews was not as good in 2022-23 but was still at a superstar level with 85 Points.  Last season, Matthews won his third Rocket Richard Award with 69 Goals (his best to date), and was also the league-leader in Even Strength Goals with 51.  He was also fourth in Hart voting, and for the first time in his career was third in Selke voting.

As of this writing, Matthews is entering his eleventh season and has been their star since his debut.  Stanley Cups will be the only way to enter the stratosphere of this list, but we aren't counting him out of reaching the top without one.