Welcome to LWOS’ Summer Hockey Series, Best of the Rest. Plenty of sites do a version of a 30 greats in 30 days series, but this year we are doing something a little bit different. We want to look at the best player from each team who is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. In order to do this there are some rules. First the player must have been a significant part of this franchise (franchises include their time in a previous city… see Winnipeg/Atlanta) and must be retired for at least 3 years, making them Hall of Fame eligible. To see all the articles in the series, check out the homepage here.

When a franchise is as old as the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are bound to be countless legends who have worn the jersey. In just two years, the Leafs will be celebrating their centennial. During the festivities, they’ll remember all the stars to have graced the ice of both the Air Canada Centre and Maple Leaf Gardens: Mats Sundin, Doug Gilmour, and Darryl Sittler, among many others. Most of these players have already reached the upper echelon of hockey stardom, the Hall of Fame. However, there are a few who haven’t.

Wendel Clark, for instance, although really he was more known for his fists than his hands. Or what about Paul Henderson? Everyone remembers his heroic goal for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. In fact, that alone could one day land him a spot in the hall, despite his average NHL career. Ron Ellis is in the top ten for the most career assists and games played as a Leaf (fourth in goals). He too would be a good choice for the former Leaf most deserving of induction. However, the one Leafs superstar who is continuously overlooked is Rick Vaive.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Rick Vaive

Vaive was one of the sole bright lights for the abysmal Maple Leafs of the early 80s. He was traded to Toronto by the Canucks midway through his first NHL season, along with Bill Derlago, who would later play on Vaive’s line setting him up to use his blistering slap shot. The Canucks drafted him 5th overall in 1979, from the WHA’s Birmingham Bulls. Vaive had cut short his junior career with the Sherbrooke Castors a year before in order to play professionally in the WHA.

He scored at least 32 goals in each of his seven seasons with the Leafs, including three consecutive 50-goal campaigns from 1981-84. In those three years, he scored more goals than anyone in the NHL not named Wayne Gretzky or Mike Bossy. Vaive was actually the first Leaf ever to record 50 goals in a season.

It may have been the early 1980s, a time before the invention of actual defence, but Vaive’s offensive production is nothing to sniff at. He played for some awful Leafs teams, during the Harold Ballard era. Over his entire NHL career, he averaged 0.9 points per game, 1.05 as a Maple Leaf.

Vaive wasn’t a one-trick pony, either. Similarly to Wendel Clark, he was also a gritty power forward. Vaive excelled in the corners and in front of the net, especially on the power play. He was known for his emotional play and hot temper, something that would ultimately work against him. Vaive often found himself in the doghouse of various Leafs coaches, and was stripped of the team’s captaincy in the 1985-86 season when he missed practice after partying too hard the night before.

Rick Vaive’s falling out with the Maple Leafs organization left a bad taste in the mouths of fans, and in 1987 was dealt (with Steve Thomas and Bob McGill) to Chicago, in a typical Harold Ballard trade. However, Vaive has recently made amends with Toronto, and is now a well-respected TV analyst.

The Ottawa native scored 43 goals in his first season in Chicago, but never managed 30 again. After two years with the Blackhawks, Vaive finished his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres, before retiring as a member of the AHL’s Hamilton Canucks. In all, Vaive played in 876 NHL games, in which he recorded 788 points, and served 1445 penalty minutes. To this day, no Leaf has scored more goals in one season than Vaive’s 54 in 1981-82. On the Leafs’ all-time leaderboard, Vaive is 5th in goals and 10th in points. Considering he accomplished all that in just seven seasons, it’s quite impressive.

His great career is often overshadowed by the terrible teams he played on, and the off-ice feuds with management. Nevertheless, three 50-goal seasons in a row is an unbelievable accomplishment. Rick Vaive was an absolute superstar in Toronto, and should be recognized as thus by the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hopefully in 2017, when the Leafs celebrate 100 years of NHL hockey in Toronto, Vaive’s number 22 will hang from the ACC rafters as well.

Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @LWOScharlieocc. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.

For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.

Main Photo: