Maple Leafs by the Numbers: #2 Thomson, Turnbull, Horner or Pratt?

We’re at the penultimate number in the...list of numnbers.

Jimmy Thomson (1945-57)
Stats: 717GP - 15G - 208A - 223Pts - 845PM
Stanley Cup: 1947, 48, 49, 51

Jimmy Thomson joined the Maple Leafs out of junior, but spend most of the 45-46 season with the Pittsburgh Hornets. Spanning twelve seasons with the Maple Leafs, he would be a solid contributor on defense, not very showy on the offense though. A loyal and committed Maple Leaf, he helped the team win four Stanley Cups, and was part of the organizing committee for Ted Lindsay’s attempts at forming a players union. His work in Toronto had every player except Ted Kennedy signed on to the union, but when owner Conn Smythe found out about it, he revealed Thomson’s yearly salary since he was a Maple Leaf and threw him off the team. Thomson vowed to never play in Toronto again, and signed with the Blackhawks the following season.

Ian Turnbull (1973-81)
Stats: 580GP - 112G - 302A - 414Pts - 651PM

A 1973 1st round pick for the Maple Leafs, Turnbull would go on to play nine seasons with the Maple Leafs straight out of junior, with only eight minor league games. He would pair with Borje Salming through the 70’s and the two would go on to be the best defensive pairing in the NHL. Turnbull set an NHL record of five goals in one game by a defense man in a 197 9-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, scoring five goals on five shots. At the start of the 81-82 season, Turnbull would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings for John Gibson and Bill Harris. He would split his time in LA between the NHL and minors, and retired from playing after six NHL games wit the Penguins in the 82-83 season.

Red Horner (1928-40)
Stats: 490GP - 42G - 110A - 152Pts - 1254PM
Stanley Cup: 1932

Red Horner was never the best defender on the Maple Leafs, that title usually went to King Clancy or Hap Day, but Horner played for the Maple Leafs for 12 seasons, never played for any other professional hockey team, and was a steady presence on the Maple Leafs blue line for over a decade.

Horner would help the Maple Leafs win the 1932 Stanley Cup, and was the leagues penalty minutes leader for seven seasons in a row, a feat still unequaled. He would enter the Hockey Hall of fame in 1966, and they have a lengthy interview with him here.

Babe Pratt (1942-46)
Stats: 181GP - 52G - 108A - 160Pts - 149PM
Hart Trophy: 1944
Stanley Cup: 1945

Acquired from the Rangers for Red Garrett and Hank Goldup, Pratt played four seasons with the Maple Leafs . Pratt would win the Hart trophy as NHL MVP in 1944, where he scored 57 points in 50 games as a defender, and his physical play and scoring from the blue line would help the Maple Leafs win the 1945 Stanley Cup.

In January 1946 Pratt would be suspended by the NHL for gambling., but would be reinstated to finish the season with the Maple Leafs. The next year he played with the Bruins, and then would leave the NHL to play out west for the remainder of his career. His son Tracy would play 11 games for the Maple Leafs in the 76-77 season.

Other 2’s

Wade Belak (2000-04)
Stats: 168GP - 6G - 11A - 17Pts - 478PM

Belak would join the Maple Leafs off waivers from the Calgary Flames during the 2000-01 season and wear #2 for his first four seasons in Toronto. Scoring just 17 points, the enforcer racked up 478 penalty minutes in his first four seasons in Toronto. Quickly becoming a fan favourite, Belak would also wear #3 and #33 in Toronto. His time with the Leafs would end in 2008 when he would be traded to the Panthers for a 5th round pick.

Carl Brewer (1960-65)
Stats: 315GP - 12G - 91A - 103Pts - 640PM
Stanley Cup: 1962, 63, 64

Brewer was a hard hitting defender who played eight seasons in the 50’s and 60’s for the Maple Leafs, winning three Stanley Cups. He would leave the Maple Leafs after the 64-65 season and play the 68-69 season in Finland, where in 20 game she had such an impact on his team and the Finnish hockey community, that they indicted him into the Finish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. He would rejoin the Maple Leafs briefly in the 79-80 season.

Eric Brewer (2015)
Stats: 18GP - 2G - 3A - 5Pts - 12PM

Brewer would come to the Leafs at the 2015 deadline from the Ducks for Korbinian Holzer. He finished the season in Toronto, and would retire in the off-season. He currently owns the Prince George Cougars of the WHL.

Garth Butcher (1994-95)
Stats: 45GP - 1G - 7A - 8Pts - 59PM

Butcher came to the Leaf in the Clark-Sundin trade at the 1984 draft. It would be his final NHL season after 12 season with the Canucks, Blues, and Nordiques.

Bobby Copp (1950-51)
Stats: 2GP - 0G - 0A - 0Pts - 2PM

A minor leaguer, Copp was called up for two games, then went back to the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec senior league.

Bert Corbeau (1923-27)
Stats: 131GP - 18G - 19A - 37Pts - 338PM

Corbeau came to Toronto from the Quebec Bulldogs and would play on the blue line for the St. Patricks/Maple Leafs for four seasons, and would captain the team in his final NHL season in 26-27.

Gerald Diduck (1999-00)
Stats: 26GP - 0G - 3A - 3Pts - 33PM

Diduck played 26 games for the Leafs near the end of his NHL career, and would be traded in October 2000 to the Stars for ‘future considerations’.

Jerome Dupont (1986-87)
Stats: 13GP - 0G - 0A - 0Pts - 23PM

Dupont split his final season as a player between the Leafs and Newmarket Saints.

Dallas Eakins (1998-99)
Stats: 18GP - 0G - 2A - 2Pts - 24PM

Splitting the season between St. John’s and Toronto, Eakins wouldn’t make a huge impact. He would later return to Toronto as assistant coach with the Marlies/Maple Leafs for four seasons and head coach of the Marlies for an other four seasons. He’s currently the head coach of the AHL San Diego Gulls.

Ted Fauss (1986-87)
Stats: 15GP - 0G - 1A - 1Pt - 11PM

An NCAA free agent who bounced around the minors got a call up in 86-87 to the Leafs.

Mark Fraser (2013-14)
Stats: 19GP - 0G - 1A - 1Pt - 33PM

Fraser would start the season with the Maple Leafs, but would be traded to the Oilers for Teemu Hartikainen and Cam Abney in January. He is currently playing for TPS in Liiga.

Bob Goldham (1941-47)
Stats: 79GP - 12G - 22A - 34Pts - 79PM

Goldham would play 19 games in the 41-42 season before joining the Navy. He would re-join the Maple Leafs in the 45-46 season and stay for two years. At the start of the 47-48 season he would be part fo a seven player trade with the Blackhawks.

Ray Gariepy (1955-56)
Stats: 1GP - 0G - 0A - 0Pts - 4PM

The career minor leaguer was called up for one game in the 55-56 season.

Hal Gill (2007-08)
Stats: 63GP - 2G - 18A - 20Pts - 52PM

Gill wore #2 in his second season with the Maple Leafs, and he would be traded at the deadline for a 2nd and 5th round pick to the Penguins, and would win the Stanley Cup the next year.

Larry Hillman (1965-68)
Stats: 158GP - 10G - 61A - 71Pts - 87PM
Stanley Cup: 1967

Hillman joined the Maple Leafs in 1960, and would switch to the #2 after five seasons in #22. In his final three seasons with the Maple Leafs he would help the team win the 1967 Stanley Cup, but would leave the team on bad terms. During contract renewals Punch Imlach would lowball the defender, and then fined him $2,400 for refusing an extension with the team (which was a thing?), and Hillman would play the 68-69 season with the Minnesota North Stars and Montreal Canadiens, declaring on his way out that the Maple Leafs would never win another Stanley cup until he was paid back his fine with interest.  Maybe time to pay up, eh?

Matt Hunwick (2015-17)
Stats: 132GP - 3G - 26A - 29Pts - 50PM

Hunwick signed with the Maple Leafs in the 2015 off-season, played two years in Toronto, and is now with the Penguins.

Trevor Johansen (1981-82)
Stats: 13GP - 1G - 3A - 4Pts - 4PM

His second stint with the Leafs was just 13 games after being claimed off waivers from the Kings.

Brian Leetch (2004)
Stats: 15GP - 2G - 13A - 15Pts - 10PM

Leetch came to the Maple Leafs from the Rangers in exchange for Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, a first and a second round pick. He would barely play 20 games for the Leafs before the cancelled 04-05 season also cancelled the final year of his contract. He is currently a senior adviser to the New York Rangers.

Sylvain Lefebvre (1992-94)
Stats: 165GP - 4G - 21A - 25Pts - 169PM

Joined the Leafs from the Canadiens for a 3rd round pick, he played two seasons in Toronto before going to the Nordiques in the Sundin-Clark trade. He is currently the head coach of the AHL Laval Rocket.

Rick Ley (1969-72)
Stats: 229GP - 8G - 54A - 62Pts - 416PM

A 1966 3rd round pick for the Leafs, Ley made the Leafs out of junior splitting his rookie season between the Leafs and Tulsa Oilers. He would play four seasons in Toronto, and would jump to the WHA New England Whalers in 1972. He would rejoin the Leafs in 1998 as an assistant coach, a role he would keep until 2006.

Joe Lundrigan (1972-73)
Stats: 49GP - 2G - 8A - 10Pts - 20PM

Lundrigan played half a season with the Maple Leafs, but spent his career in the minor leagues.

Darwin McCutcheon (1981-82)
Stats: 1GP - 0G - 0A - 0Pts - 2PM

A 9th round pick in 1980, he played one game with the Leafs after the OHL Windsor Spitfires season was over. He would go on to play for the University of Prince Edward Island before a few years in the minor leagues.

Ric Nattress (1991-92)
Stats: 36GP - 2G - 14A - 16Pts - 32PM

Nattress was part of the Doug Gilmour trade with the Flames, and finished the season with the Leafs. He played the next year with the Flyers then retired.

Gary Nylund (1982-86)
Stats: 218GP - 7G - 50A - 57Pts - 398PM

A 1st round pick in 1982, Nylund joined the Leafs right out of junior and stayed for four seasons, until he would leave the Leafs for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pierre Pilote (1968-69)
Stats: 69GP - 3G - 18A - 21Pts - 46PM

Pilote played with the Leafs for his final season after being traded by the Blackhawks for Jim Pappin.

Beattie Ramsay (1927-28)
Stats: 43GP - 0G - 2A - 2Pts - 10PM

Ramsay played just one season of professional hockey, and it was with the Maple Leafs. He previously played in the 1924 Olympics, winning the gold for Canada. Before joining the Leafs he was head coach at Princeton University for three seasons.

Marc Reaume (1957-60)
Stats: 155GP - 2G - 13A - 15Pts - 122PM

Reaume wore #2 for two and a half seasons, until he would be traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Red Kelly.

Luke Richardson (1987-91)
Stats: 278GP - 11G - 36A - 47Pts - 556PM

A 1987 1st round pick, Richardson played four seasons in Toronto on defense, until being traded to the Oilers in a seven player deal. He would return to Toronto in a trade with the Blue Jackets for a 5th round pick. He is currently an assistant coach with the Islanders.

Art Smith (1927-30)
Stats: 101GP - 13G - 6A - 19Pts - 188PM

Smith played 101 games with the Maple Leafs, until he was one of three players traded to the Ottawa Senators for King Clancy.

Luke Schenn (2008-12)
Stats: 213GP - 14G - 61A - 75Pts - 217PM

The Maple Leafs 2008 1st round pick, Schenn was the consolation prize for not winning the lottery to get Steven Stamkos. He played four seasons with the Leafs, coming right out of junior in a move many criticized as rushing him in to the NHL, and made a big impact on fans in his rookie year, but people saw him as a diminishing player as the years went on.

In the 2012 off-season he would be traded to the Flyers for James van Riemsdyk and with hindsight it was a pretty good draft pick to make, since that’s where it ended up. Schenn is currently playing with the Arizona Coyotes.

Rob Zettler (1995-98)
Stats: 136GP - 2G - 20A - 22Pts - 207PM

Zettler joined the Leafs from the Flyers for a 5th round pick, and stayed in Toronto for three seasons, splitting 96-97 with the IHL Utah Grizzlies. He would be selected by the Nashville Predators in the 1998 expansion draft. He would return to Toronto ten years later in 2008 as an assistant coach, and stayed for four seasons. He is currently an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks.

Who was the best #2 for the Maple Leafs?