7 players Toronto Maple Leafs moved on from now in Stanley Cup Final
When the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers renew their hostilities in the Stanley Cup Final next week, there will be plenty of familiar faces for Toronto Maple Leafs fans.
In fact, seven players have ties to the organization, though in most cases, Toronto’s front office opted against keeping them around for one reason or another.
Given that the players have moved on to teams with a more successful recent track record than the Leafs, they’re probably not feeling too down about not being in Toronto.
Ex-Leafs on Edmonton Oilers
Zach Hyman won’t be playing in the Stanley Cup Final due to a wrist injury, but he’s arguably been the most accomplished ex-Leaf on this list. Hyman left Toronto largely due to a shot at a higher payday in Edmonton, signing in 2021 on a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal that he was unlikely to get in Toronto.
There’s also the currently injured Connor Brown, a former teammate of Hyman’s and occasional linemate. Brown’s emotional goodbye came in 2019 as part of a multi-player trade to the Ottawa Senators.
Kasperi Kapanen was another member of that young Leafs core, having been traded to the team that drafted him in 2020 when he was shipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also spent parts of three seasons in St. Louis before making his way to Edmonton via waivers this season.
Defenceman John Klingberg had a brief foray with the Leafs in 2023-24, playing 14 games but missing much of the season due to ongoing knee issues. He signed a one-year deal with the Oilers after signing a similar contract in Toronto.
Lastly, Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard, who has played for six NHL teams, played one game for the Leafs back in 2017 before eventually leaving for the Philadelphia Flyers via waivers.
Ex-Leafs on Florida Panthers
While Florida doesn’t have any players who have played for the Leafs, that might be even more heartbreaking for fans, given how they gave up on two of their players too soon. Florida forwards Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe were both under their control at one point.
The Leafs acquired Rodrigues in the Kapanen deal from the Penguins as a restricted free agent, but opted not to give him a qualifying offer or a new contract. He then returned to Pittsburgh shortly after, also playing with the Colorado Avalanche before signing as a free agent in Florida in 2023.
Verhaeghe, a 2013 third-round pick of the Leafs, was traded away from the Leafs in 2015 to the New York Islanders for Taylor Beck, Christopher Gibson, Matt Finn, and Tom Nilsson, in exchange for Michael Grabner. Two years later, he was flipped to Tampa Bay for Kristers Gudlevskis, and eventually signed with Florida as a free agent in 2020.