On This Day July 2nd.

July 2: On this day in 1986, John Brophy was hired as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His stay behind the Leaf bench lasted two and a half seasons until December of 1988. His record with the club was 64-111-18. Words to describe John Brophy, the coach, might include; intense competitor, fierce, righteous, harsh, mean and impulsive. He lost the confidence of his players quickly and after a long Leaf winless streak in late 1988, he was let go.

July 2: On this day in 2002, goaltender Ed Belfour was signed as a free agent by the Leafs. Belfour played three seasons with the Leafs towards the end of his career. It was with Toronto that he won his 400th NHL career game and then his 448th win to vault into second place behind Patrick Roy on the all-time list. Belfour tied a playoff record in 2004 when he recorded 3 shutouts in one playoff series. Overall, Belfour posted an impressive record of 93 wins, 61 losses and 15 ties as a Leaf.


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