The very first Stanley Cup winners from Toronto, the 1914 pre-NHL Blueshirts, required some help from a previous out-of-town champion.
In fact, defenceman/centre Jack Marshall had already experienced three Cups, with Montreal AAA, the Montreal Wanderers and the Winnipeg Victorias, going back 12 years before joining the inaugural team to bring the trophy to this side of Lake Ontario.
Almost all successful Toronto teams — the Arenas, St. Patricks and Maple Leafs — also brought in one or two past winners, right up to former Detroit star Red Kelly’s huge part in the 1960s Leafs dynasty.
It’s a lot harder in today’s 32-team NHL to land those vital proven parts, but give the Leafs credit for trying during the summer. They brought in three Florida Panthers just a few weeks after the trio’s Sunshine State parade, getting defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goaltender Anthony Stolarz under contract, with forward Steven Lorentz on a PTO pending the final roster on Monday.
New coach Craig Berube, a Cup winner in St. Louis five years ago, has seen how popular the pedigree of a jeweled ring can be. Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, one of his best Blues, went on to win another Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights. David Perron and Vince Dunn were hot commodities, too.
“They do it, they’ve gone through it,” Berube said of adding such long-beards for what’s ahead each spring. “They know what’s needed from all the things they went through — together.”
That’s not quite worked out for the Leafs most recent past. They brought in champions Dave Bolland (Chicago), Jake Muzzin, Kyle Clifford (Los Angeles), Zach Bogosian (Tampa Bay) and Ryan O’Reilly (St. Louis), though Muzzin was limited by injuries. The club’s 57-year Cup drought remains.
But Lorentz insists he and his notable Cat litter can make an immediate impact.
“Every team wants winners, right?” Lorentz said. “Being able to go through what I did last year was such a privilege with the group we had and gives you a whole new perspective. It makes you appreciate how hard it really is to win. It takes so much more than just luck and hard work. It’s the sacrifices, guys going the extra mile.
“To be able to bring that into camp this season, to a team that has a lot of potential to do what we did last year, is very exciting. It’s a good opportunity for we three to rub off on the rest of the group, the tips and pointers we learned and put them to work this year.”
Some curious Leafs, who’ve known nothing but playoff disappointment other than one series win two years ago, have approached the three the past few weeks.
“They’ve seen the (Cup) tattoo on my leg and Stolarz’s,” Lorentz said. “But it’s little things; guys pick your brain whether it was about the party after we won or what the difference was between each series and each round.
“Any time you can share a tidbit of advice or whatever, we’re happy to do so.”
Lorentz has said a couple of times he’s leaving one leg bare in hopes he can ink a Leaf Cup there one day, while Stolarz recalled of last June “to raise (the Cup), have our names engraved on it, seeing yours, I just had that reality set in.
“I keep telling (new teammates) ’let’s do it again, run it back this year.’”
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