Cory Kennedy
Registered User
In the 2005 NHL Entry Draft the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted an 18 year old Tuukka Rask. At the time, due to the NHL Lockout the Leafs have missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Ed Belfour was 40 years of age and nearing retirement so Leafs GM at the time John Ferguson. JR knew that the Maple Leafs would need a backbone that can carry their team to success for many years to come, so on July 30th 2005, he pulled the trigger on 18 year old Tuukka Rask! At the time, Rask was looking like an absolute stud putting up amazing save percentages for his Ilves tampere team in Finland and was the Goalie the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to replace an aging Ed Belfour. With all that hype and build up surrounding Tuukka Rask, it would seem that he would definitely be a future NHL Star and the Leafs wouldn't even think about trading him, right? Wrong! On June 24th, 2006 the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Rask to the Boston Bruins for a 26 year old Calder Winning Goaltender in Andrew Raycroft. At the time, this trade seemed fair since Rask was still yet to enter the Main Roster and Andrew Raycroft was coming off a Calder winning season and was looking like a future star backbone. Unfortunately, that was the complete opposite. Tuukka Rask went on to be a Superstar Goaltender for the Boston Bruins putting up Stud Stats every year, willing a Vezina in 2013-14, a Jennings in 2019-20 and a Stanley Cup in 2011 while Andrew Raycroft only played 2 short seasons with the Leafs before being Sent off to Colorado. Obviously, this was one of the worst trades in the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history and I don't know what was going through John Ferguson JRs head when he thought of making this trade. So what do you guys personally think? What would have happened if this were an Alternate Reality and John Ferguson JR never traded Tuukka Rask. What would the next 14 years look like for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Leave your replies down below.