As we all know, the Leafs haven’t been the most clever front office over the last decade or so. Consequently, there have been many players that the team has traded or not re-signed who have gone on to great things with other teams. Today, we’ll take a look at three players who’ve slipped away from the Leafs in recent years (2008/2009 season onwards) and made the team pay for it. We’ll also look at whether the move was a foreseeable mistake at the time.
How he left: Via trade with St. Louis in November 2008.
TOR received Lee Stempniak (W), STL received Alex Steen (C/W) and Carlo Colaiacovo (D)
At the time: Steen was struggling through a season where he had just four points in 20 games with the Leafs, while being relegated to 3rd and 4th line duty by head coach Ron Wilson.