On This Day December 20th.

December 20: On this day in 1909, Charlie Conacher was born in Toronto, Ontario. The "Big Bomber" may have been the greatest Leaf right-winger of all time. During the 1930's, he led the NHL in goal scoring five times. He won the league scoring championship in 1933-34, despite missing 6 games which was a healthy 12.5% of the schedule back then, and then repeated the next season. He was one of only two Maple Leafs in team history to lead the NHL in scoring on two separate occasions. Conacher formed part of one of the best Leaf forward lines of all time. Along with Busher Jackson and Joe Primeau, the "Kid" line led the Leafs to Stanley Cup victory in 1932. Charlie Conacher was the first Leaf to score 200 career goals. On January 19, 1932, he became the first Leaf to score five goals in one game as the Leafs clobbered the New York Americans 11-3. On February 6, 1932, he scored a goal just 0:07 into a game that the Leafs won 6-0 over Boston. It remains the fastest game -winning goal in NHL history. Charlie Conacher died of cancer at the age of 58 in 1967.

December 20: On this day in 1950, Toronto's Turk Broda became the first NHL goalie to win 300 games. The Leafs defeated the Canadiens 6-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens. Broda went on to win 2 more to end his career with 302 victories, all with the Leafs. He remains by far the Leafs all-time winningest goalie, 82 ahead of 2nd place Johnny Bower.

December 20: On this day in 1989, the Leafs and the New York Islanders engaged in a five player swap that saw the Leafs acquire Gilles Thibaudeau and Mike Stevens in exchange for Jack Capuano, Paul Gagne and Derek Laxdal. As Leafs, Thibaudeau and Stevens combined to play 42 games. The new Islander trio lasted a combined 25 games in New York.

December 20: On this day in 2010, Leafs long standing defenseman Tomas Kaberle got his 500th NHL point at the 14:22 mark of the second period against the Atlanta Thrashers, it was an assist on John Mitchel's goal to make the game 2 to 1. Unfortunately it was a 6-3 loss for the Leafs.

December 20: On this day in 2010, Jonas Gustavsson was beaten five times on 18 shots against the Atlanta Thrashers and had to be pulled in favour of rookie James Reimer making this Reimer's first official NHL game. The game ended 6-3 Atlanta.

On This Day February 3rd.

Turk Broda - "The Fabulous Fat Man"

February 3: On this day in 1949, Turk Broda became the first Leaf goaltender in Toronto franchise history and just the second in NHL history to win 250 career games as the Leafs defeated the Canadiens 4-1 in Montreal.

He retired after playing only one game in the 1951-52 season. Broda was accorded a special night at the Gardens by Conn Smythe, one of the rarest honors bestowed upon a Leaf. That night came on December 22, 1951, and players and executives from Toronto, the opposing Bruins and every other NHL team gathered to pay respects to one of the greatest goalies of all time.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967.

A very young Dick Duff

February 3: On this day in 1957, Dick Duff scored the first hat trick of his NHL career and his only 3-goal game as a Leaf. He provided all of Toronto's output in a 6-3 loss to the Black Hawks at Chicago.

Summary:
Inducted into the Hall of Fame 2006.
Born 18 February 1936 Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
Played 18 NHL seasons from 1954 to 1972.

On This Day January 22nd.

Felix "The Cat" Potvin

January 22:  On this day in 1994, Felix Potvin becomes first Leaf player voted to starting lineup of the NHL All-Star Game, halting 16 of 19 shots for the Western Conference at Madison Square Garden. In his early years with the Leafs, Potvin was a workhorse who, in his first big-league campaign, carried his club to the semi-finals where they eventually lost to Wayne Gretzky and his Los Angeles Kings. By the time he'd completed his six-year run with the Blue and White, Potvin had more games played and wins than all other Leafs stoppers except for Turk Broda and Johnny Bower. He set a club record, leading the league in games played with 74 during the 1996-97 season. During that campaign, he faced more shots than any goaltender in league history.

Curtis "Kujo" Joseph

January 22:  On this day in 2002, Leaf goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped Jarome Iginla on a penalty shot and led the Leafs to a 6-1 win in Calgary. It was the 8th time in Joseph's career as a Leaf that he faced a penalty shot shooter. The shooters were only successful 2 out of 8 times against Joseph. Although he never dominated the NHL's goaltending statistics, "Cujo" was looked upon as one of the league's top netminders whose play only improved during the post-season. His impact on his new club was immediate as his excellent goaltending helped the Leafs register 99 points and reach the Stanley Cup semifinals. His coolness under fire impressed back up netminder Glenn Healy. Joseph won 35 games in the regular season and nine in the playoffs and was runner-up to Dominik Hasek in the voting for the Vezina trophy.

On This Day January 10th.

Don Metz

January 10:   On this day in 1916, Leaf right-winger Don Metz was born in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. Don and his brother Nick played their entire NHL careers as Leafs of the 1930's and 40's. Don's first game as a Leaf was on November 19, 1939. He is one of only three Leafs in team history to play on five Stanley Cup winning teams. The other two are Turk Broda and Ted Kennedy. In 172 games as a Leaf, Metz had 55 points. He went out a winner, retiring in 1949 after the Leafs' third consecutive Stanley Cup victory.

1919/20 - 1920/21 Montreal Canadiens

January 10:  On this day in 1920, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Toronto St. Patricks by a score of two converted touchdowns to one (14-7). Newsy Lalonde of the Canadiens became the first player in NHL history to score 6 goals in one game. As of 2008, the 21 goals scored in one game remains an NHL record that has been tied once, but never surpassed.

Frank Mahovlich

January 10:  On this day in 1938, Hall-of-Fame left-winger Frank Mahovlich was born in Timmins, Ontario. The "Big M's first game in the NHL was with the Leafs on March 20, 1957. The next season, he won the Calder trophy as rookie of the year, edging out Bobby Hull. Mahovlich played almost 11 full seaons in Toronto where he won four Stanley Cups and led the Leafs in goal scoring for 6 consecutive seasons between 1960-61 and 1965-66. With the Leafs, Mahovlich scored 296 regular season goals and had 597 points. The biggest milestone that narrowly evaded Mahovlich in his NHL career was a 50-goal season. Frank Mahovlich was the centerpiece of a massive trade by the Leafs with the Red Wings on March 3, 1968. In Detroit, he got to play on a line with fellow Hall-of-Famers, Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio. In 1971, Mahovlich was again the prize in a trade between the Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens where the Big M went on to become the 5th player in NHL history to score 500 goals and the 8th player to record 1,000 points. He would go on to win two more Cups with the Habs. He was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1981.

1972/73 - 1994/95 New York Islanders Logo

January 10:  On this day in 1973, the Leafs played the New York Islanders for the first time ever and came out on top 4-2. The 1972-73 season was the Islanders' first in the NHL. They finished in last place in the 8-team East Division but went on to assemble a dynasty that won four straight Cups between 1980-83. As of 2006-07, the Leafs have an all-time losing record against the Islanders of W-52, L-54, T-7, OL-3 in 116 games. In the times the two teams have met in the playoffs, the Leafs won 2 series and lost 1.

Pat Ribble

January 10:  On this day in 1980, the Leafs traded defensemen with the Chicago Black Hawks when they acquired Pat Ribble from Chicago in exchange for Dave Hutchison. Pat Ribble played his junior hockey for the Oshawa Generals of the OHA from 1972 to 1975. It was there that he established himself as a big, crease-clearing rearguard who could move the puck although rarely as far as the opposition's net, but unfortunately Ribble lasted just 13 games in Toronto and was traded to Washington a month later.