5 Players Who Shined Right After Leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs

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James Connelly
July 27, 2023 (8:54 PM)

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There has been a trend of players succeeding once they leave Toronto.

Players Often See Growth After Leaving Toronto

The Toronto market is known for being a difficult one to play in. Due to this, many players find themselves not performing at their best level with the Leafs but once they leave they often break out and help a team win the Stanley Cup.

Number 5: Hyman

Zach Hyman was once one of the Maple Leafs top line players and he was thought to be the perfect compliment to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. While he has yet to win a cup since leaving the Maple Leafs, he has made the Western Conference Finals with the Edmonton Oilers.

Last season, he scored 83 points in 79 games, a massive improvement over his 41-point high in Toronto.

Number 4: Steen

Alexander Steen is an interesting case of the benefits of leaving Toronto. His best years came a bit after he was traded from Toronto scoring 60+ points in 2014 and in 2015.

While he never scored over a point per game, he helped the Blues win a Stanley Cup as an alternate captain and enjoyed a lengthy career spanning over 1,000 games, mostly with St. Louis.

Number 3: Bozak

Tyler Bozak was a long-time Maple Leaf playing with them from 2009-2018. One year after leaving the Maple Leafs, Bozak won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis.

While he did not register career highs with the Blues, Bozak displayed his playoff prowess registering a career-high of 13 points in 26 playoff games during their cup run.

Number 2: Kadri

Nazem Kadri is one of the most successful former Maple Leafs in the NHL. After spending the first 10 years of his career in Toronto, Kadri was shipped to Colorado.

With the Avalanche, Kadri won a Stanley Cup in 2022 and registered 87 points in 71 games (100-point pace). He never won a playoff series with Toronto and his career best with the Leafs was 44 points in 48 games or a 75-point pace.

Number 1: Kessel

Finally, the one that saw exponential growth after leaving Toronto, Phil Kessel. Since leaving Toronto, Kessel won three Stanley Cups.

Kessel's career best in Toronto was 82 points but he surpassed that with Pittsburgh registering 92 points in 2017-18. In Kessel's seven seasons with the Leafs, he only got into seven playoff games.

With the Penguins, he got into 49 and scored 45 points in that span.

Seen first on Daily Hive - 5 former Leafs players who excelled after leaving Toronto