Former Leafs GM Reveals They Passed on Drafting Hall-of-Fame Center Due to Former Coach
Photo credit: Ron Chenoy Imagn Images
Former Leafs GM Gord Stellick revealed on Monday that the Leafs were forced to pass over a future Hall-of-Fame at the 1987 draft because their coach disapproved.
The Maple Leafs have had more than their fair share of complete misses throughout the years at the entry draft, including trading two first-round picks that ended up being used to select Roberto Luongo and Scott Niedermayer.
For the younger generation, those would include selecting Frederik Gauthier over Shea Theodore in 2013, and Tyler Biggs and Stuart Percy over the likes of Phillip Danault and Rickard Rakell in 2011.
One of their biggest blunders, however, may have come in the 1987 draft - not because the scouting staff or GM at the time Gord Stellick didn't want to make the pick, but because the head coach had far too much influence over it because of his status with controversial owner Harold Ballard.
The Maple Leafs Were Forced to Pass on Joe Sakic at the 1987 Entry Draft
Stellick made an appearance on 'Leafs Morning Take' on Monday, where he was asked if he had any stories about missed opportunities or things he regretted.
It was then that he shared the story of how a coach nixed the idea to draft future Hall-of-Famer Joe Sakic seventh overall.
"John Brophy was our coach and he had way too much influence as a coach because the owner, Harold Ballard, liked him. We were going to pick Luke Richardson sixth overall...
I have to give Floyd Smith credit, he was our Chief Scout. He made a last-minute pitch for Joe Sakic... John Brophy is going nuts because he doesn't like small centermen."
I have to give Floyd Smith credit, he was our Chief Scout. He made a last-minute pitch for Joe Sakic... John Brophy is going nuts because he doesn't like small centermen."
While Richardson did have a productive NHL career skating in 1417 games across 21 seasons, Leafs Nation cannot even think about the possibility of having Sakic and Doug Gilmour playing on a line together and what could have been.
Hindsight is 20/20 and had the Leafs drafted Sakic, who knows what the team would have looked like today, as selecting Sakic could have had a cascading effect on the roster that could have spanned decades.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 10 | 3305 ANSWERS Former Leafs GM Reveals They Passed on Drafting Hall-of-Fame Center Due to Former Coach Which decision has been the worst one by the Leafs in the last 40 years? | ||
| Trading Rask | 1115 | 33.7 % |
| Trading picks used for Niedermayer and Luongo | 735 | 22.2 % |
| Passing on Sakic | 1041 | 31.5 % |
| Other | 414 | 12.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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