In my grand tradition of making teams based on Maple Leafs who are no longer Maple Leafs, I bring you the best team I could make from picking only ex-Maple Leafs that have been exposed in the expansion draft. Thanks to Katya and GunnerCarlsson for doing the work of collecting these names, and letting me have all the fun.
Related
The Toronto Maple Leafs Spengler Cup team
The Barely a Maple Leaf All-Star Team
The Traded Draft Picks All-Star Team
I’m going to pick 13 forwards, 7 defense, and 3 goalies. Positions came from Hockey DB so don’t @ me if I mislabeled someone. You’re expecting too much research to be done for this other wise. Some C’s were picked and moved to LW because there wasn’t a lot of LW’s to grab
Here is my team:
Forwards
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke MacArthur | Peter Holland | Michael Grabner |
| Viktor Stalberg | Dominic Moore | P.A. Parenteau |
| Nikolai Kulemin | Matt Stajan | Lee Stempniak |
| Byron Froese | Joe Colborne | Kris Versteeg |
| Spare: | Daniel Winnik |
There weren’t a low of LW’s available, and a couple C’s were better and I didn’t want to pass them up.
Michael Grabner is probably the best pick to play now, and Byron Froese is a good prospect for the future. Kulemin, Versteeg, Stajan are there because..well, choices.
Defense
| . | . |
|---|---|
| Cody Franson | T.J. Brennan |
| Carl Gunnarsson | John-Michael Liles |
| Tim Erixon | Stuart Percy |
| Frank Corrado |
Carl Gunnarson is the best D on the team, and Cody Franson, who a few Leafs fans want back, is also up there. JM Liles is an okay middle pair guy for this team, and the bottom pair both come from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Frank Corrado is assigned to the press box for old times sake.
Goalies
| Starter | Back Up | Spare |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Bernier | Jhonas Enroth | Jeff Glass |
I also could have picked Jonas Gustavsson as the spare. What is it with the Maple Leafs and names that start with J?
The goaltending isn’t as bad as I thought, but Enroth, man, was not a good back up, but maybe he will be in this made up universe?
Below you can find the full list of exposed former Leafs, Marlies, and picks. Could you build a better team? Share one in the comments.
Exposed ex-Maple Leafs
| Team | Ex-Leafs Exposed | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | Sam Carrick | C | |
| Anaheim Ducks | Spencer Abbott | LW | |
| Anaheim Ducks | Korbinian Holzer | D | |
| Anaheim Ducks | Jhonas Enroth | G | |
| Anaheim Ducks | Jonathan Bernier | G | |
| Arizona Coyotes | Peter Holland | C | |
| Arizona Coyotes | Jeremy Morin | LW | |
| Boston Bruins | Dominic Moore | C | |
| Boston Bruins | John-Michael Liles | D | |
| Boston Bruins | Jimmy Hayes | RW | Draft pick of Leafs |
| Buffalo Sabres | Cody Franson | D | |
| Buffalo Sabres | Cal O'Reilly | C | On loan to Marlies |
| Calgary Flames | Matt Stajan | C | |
| Calgary Flames | Kris Versteeg | RW | |
| Calgary Flames | Michael Kostka | D | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Lee Stempniak | RW | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Jay McClement | C | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Jeff Glass | G | |
| Colorado Avalanche | Joe Colborne | C | |
| Colorado Avalanche | John Mitchell | C | |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Scott Harrington | D | |
| Edmonton Oilers | Mark Fraser | D | |
| Edmonton Oilers | Jonas Gustavsson | G | Has contract in SHL |
| Los Angeles Kings | Andrew Crescenzi | C | |
| Minnesota Wild | Alex Stalock | G | |
| Minnesota Wild | Alex Gudbranson | D | On loan to Marlies |
| Nashville Predators | P.A. Parenteau | RW | |
| Nashville Predators | Petter Granberg | D | |
| New Jersey Devils | Viktor Loov | D | |
| New Jersey Devils | Andrew MacWilliam | D | |
| New York Islanders | Nikolai Kulemin | LW | |
| New York Islanders | Christopher Gibson | G | |
| New York Islanders | Matt Finn | D | |
| New York Rangers | Michael Grabner | RW | |
| New York Rangers | Taylor Beck | RW | Was a Leaf for 2 months in the summer |
| Ottawa Senators | Clarke MacArthur | LW | |
| Ottawa Senators | Viktor Stalberg | LW | |
| Ottawa Senators | Ryan Rupert | C | |
| Ottawa Senators | Casey Bailey | RW | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | T.J. Brennan | D | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Stuart Percy | D | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Tim Erixon | D | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Frank Corrado | D | |
| St Louis Blues | Carl Gunnarsson | D | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Gregg McKegg | C | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Byron Froese | C | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond | RW | On loan to Marlies |
| Vancouver Canucks | Tom Nilsson | D | |
| Washington Capitals | Zach Sill | C | |
| Washington Capitals | Daniel Winnik | C | |
| Winnipeg Jets | Shawn Matthias | C |