What would the Leafs look like if they could only have Toronto-born players?

One thing that happens with the Toronto Maple Leafs every year, without fail, is they’ll find themselves linked to several players with local ties.

With Toronto being a hockey hotbed, it’s no coincidence that several of the game’s best players have called Canada’s largest city home.

But what if the Leafs could only pick players who grew up within their borders?

It sounds asinine in a modern sporting context — but it’s not without a bit of precedent.

Athletic Bilbao, who have competed in the top Spanish soccer league since 1929,  winning eight league titles, have had a policy dating back over a century of only employing players from the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain.

Previously, NHL rules granted the Montreal Canadiens territorial rights for the first shot at select Quebec-born youth players in a brief stint from 1936 to 1943.

Would such a Toronto-heavy team be a Stanley Cup contender? Run of the mill? The worst team in the league? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

An important distinction: we’re only looking at players with Toronto listed as their birthplace, regardless of whether they grew up in the Greater Toronto Area or not.

That leaves out quite a few big names that Leafs fans may be thinking of. Connor McDavid? Newmarket. John Tavares? Oakville. Steven Stamkos? Markham. All cities close enough to cheer for the Leafs and even play minor hockey within the Toronto borders, but decidedly not the birth city of Toronto.

Here’s how the forward group would look:

There are some real solid players on this list, with five of the forwards having recently participated in the Stanley Cup Final. But the Toronto-only Leafs would probably be best to convert one of their many wingers to centre, as it’s one of their weakest spots on the team.

On defence, here’s how things would stack up:

Chris Tanev is the only current Leaf on the list, though it appears on the surface to be a rather serviceable defensive group. Handedness might be the main concern, with only Hamilton, Drysdale, and Friedman being true right-handed defencemen.

The biggest issue for this homegrown squad would be their netminders.

No current Toronto-born goalies are in the NHL, with Malcolm Subban being the most recent candidate, having played one game for Columbus in 2023-24. That issue alone might sink Toronto’s playoff hopes, with Eddie Pasquale being the second-most recent Toronto netminder to grace an NHL crease — and he last played in 2019, as he’s currently playing for the Austria-based Val Pusteria Wolves.

(Note: all birthplaces on this list are as per NHL.com/Hockey-Reference.com, though some databases may vary.)

In any case, it’s mostly an interesting thought experiment as we head into the depths of the NHL offseason, as we don’t exactly expect Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and his staff to undergo a massive rehaul of the roster just to get some more local talent on the team.

You might also like:
• Who will win the Stanley Cup in 2026? Here's what oddsmakers are predicting