March 3: On this day in 1929, former Leafs defenseman Steve Kraftcheck was born in Tinturn, Ontario. Kraftcheck played all eight of his games as a Leaf in October, 1958 after which he was returned to the AHL for good. He retired in 1964 as the AHL's all-time leading scoring defenseman. As a Leaf, he had one goal. Steve Kraftcheck passed away in August of 1997.
March 3: On this day in 1931, Lorne Chabot of the Leafs became the first goalie in Toronto franchise history to win 100 games as the Leafs defeated the Philadelphia Quakers 5-1. The Quakers were an NHL member franchise for just the one 1930-31 season.
March 3: On this day in 1934, Jack Shill made his NHL debut with the Leafs in a 6-4 win over Detroit at Maple Leaf Gardens. He played the rest of the 1933-34 season as a Leaf but was loaned to the Boston Bruins for the following season. He came back to play another 35 games with the Leafs over two more seasons until 1937. In 42 games with the Leafs, Shill had 4 goals and 6 assists. He later won a Stanley Cup as a member of the 1938 Chicago Black Hawks. He passed away in 1976 at the age of 63.
March 3: On this day in 1968, the Leafs conducted one of the biggest trades in team history with the Detroit Red Wings. Going to Detroit from Toronto were Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, and future NHL star, Garry Unger in exchange for Norm Ullman, Floyd Smith and Paul Henderson. It turned out to be a fairly positive transaction for both clubs, although all three players acquired by the Wings had departed by 1971.