It began with a head-scratching trade. And then a little over a year later, it was over.



In between, there were retirement threats, an All-Star Game appearance, contentious negotiations, a bitter breakup, a most unusual NHL contract and millions of dollars left on the table. Even Carlton the Bear got dragged into it.



Robert Svehla’s single-season stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2002-03 is one of the strangest tales in recent NHL memory.



Imagine Jake Muzzin had not signed his four-year, $22.5 million extension with the Leafs back in February. Now imagine the Leafs continuing to hold out hope that a deal would eventually get done. But then free agency opens without a deal in place. Then word comes that Muzzin has decided to retire, leaving the Leafs with a giant hole in their top four, and few desirable options left on the market with whom to replace him.



Well, in the summer of 2003 that’s the predicament the Maple Leafs found...