October 7: On this day in 1920, Leaf defenseman Garth Boesch was born in Milestone Saskatchewan. Boesch played in just four seasons as a Leaf between 1946-47 and 1950, but was fortunate enough to be a part of the Cup-winning Leafs for 3 out his 4 NHL seasons. Boesch was the only Leaf to wear a moustache for several years, including all of the 1940's. Wearing facial hair was frowned upon by many professional teams back then.
October 7: On this day in 1954, defenseman Larry Cahan's NHL career began with the Maple Leafs. He played in 80 games for Toronto over the next 2 seasons before being sold to the Rangers for $15,000 in June, 1956. He had 8 points as a Leaf. He was one of several players whose big league careers were revived with expansion in 1967 when he became an original member of the Oakland Seals.
October 7: On this day in 1985, the Leafs sent left-winger Stew Gavin to Hartford in exchange for defenseman Chris Kotsopolous. Gavin was a Leaf for the first half of the 1980's (1980-81-1985) while Kotsopolous remained in Toronto until 1989.
October 7: On this day in 2000, the Leafs opened their 2000-01 season with a 2-0 shutout over Montreal at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. As at the end of the 2006-07 season, the Leafs and Canadiens have played each other a total of 682 times in the regular season, more than any other two teams in NHL history. The Leafs all-time record against the Habs is W-272, L-318, T-88, OL-4. In 13 playoff encounters the Leafs have won 6 and lost 7. As of 2007, the two storied rivals have not met in the playoffs since 1979.