NItzy's Hockey Den Official All-Time Maple Leafs Team

TSN is in the process of revealing their All-Time teams for each Canadian NHL team, on May 4 they get to Toronto. I figured I'd do my own selections using the same criteria they will be. The rules are as follows:
There are a few choices that are obvious and easy. The goaltenders are Broda and Bower, no questions asked. These two are not only number one and two in franchise victories by far, but they've won 9 of the Leafs Stanley Cups and four of the six Vezina Trophies. 
Auston Matthews has to be the current player on the All-Time team (I don't agree with this requirement, but I'll play by the rules) and luckily he makes the games played threshold. His 0.56 Goals per Game are second only to Charlie Conacher among Leafs with 200+ games played. 
The problem with Toronto is that so many of their greatest players have been Centres, there will be some good ones left off this squad.
The top two defencemen is another easy choice in Borje Salming and Tim Horton. Each were six-time All-Stars and rank one and two in games played by defenders.

The rest of Nitzy's Hockey Den Official All-Time Maple Leafs Team:
The final cuts were these guys;
G Felix Potvin
D Ian Turnbull
D Bobby Baun
LW Sid Smith
C Darryl Sittler/Doug Gilmour
RW Phil Kessel

Kaberle and Clancy were almost a no-brainer for my second defence line, Kaberle had 12 very productive seasons in Toronto and although Clancy played just six seasons with the Leafs (I tended to favour longevity in this process) he was an All-Star four times and an integral part of a Stanley Cup.
The "shutdown" pair of Jimmy Thomson and Allan Stanley would not be fun to play against. Thomson was a defensive stalwart for 11 Leaf seasons, was an All-Star twice and helped win four Cups. Stanley was a latter-day Thomson, in ten Leaf seasons he was an All-Star three times and won four Cups.
I really like my "checking line" of Pulford, Keon and Armstrong. They were all together on the 1960's Leaf four Cup winners and collectively played 50 seasons for the Leafs. 
Syl Apps gets my first centre spot, an easy call in my mind. I have rated him as the greatest Leaf ever in the past and still believe that. His ten year Leaf career was interrupted by military duty in his prime and he retired pretty much still at the top of his game. A five-time All-Star, Calder Trophy winner and  three-time Cup winner, simply the greatest Leaf.
This leaves only one more spot for a centre (two if I use the Foundational Player slot) and there's still Darryl Sittler, Ted Kennedy, Mats Sundin and Doug Gilmour among others. Although Sittler was my childhood hero, and still my favourite Leaf ever, I have to go with Sundin on the third line and Kennedy as the Foundational player. Kennedy led the Leafs to five Cups, was an All-Star there times and won the team's last Hart Trophy. As for Sundin, it came down to him and Sittler. Gilmour, as dominant as he was, it was for too short a stint in my mind, especially when comparing him to Sundin and Sittler. I gave Sundin the nod for his slightly longer peak production period than Sittler and his additional All-Star selection. Very tough call.
Mahovlich and Jackson were fairly easy calls as two of my Left Wingers, having garnered six and five All-Star selections respectively. Sid Smith was a difficult cut, an under-rated Leaf great who played all his 12 seasons with Toronto and being named an All-Star three times in addition to winning two Lady Byngs. I went with Clark though for his intangibles...his heart and drive. Also, Clark produced better in the post-season than Smith, that helped push me in his direction.
Charlie Conacher is really the no-doubt All-Time Right Winger on the Leafs. In his nine Leaf seasons he topped the NHL in goals five times, was an All-Star five times and helped win the Cup in 1932.
Vaive and McDonald are together on the next tier of Leaf Right Wings, although Lanny was named an All-Star as a Leaf once I gave the second line spot to Vaive. Among NHL players with at least 400 goals, Rick Vaive is one of 15 guys to score at least 0.500 goals per game throughout their career. The other 14 guys are in the Hall of Fame. 
Some really difficult calls had to be made (especially Sittler) but I'm pretty happy with this squad. Looking forward to seeing how it matches up with the TSN squad.

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