Fansided

Every NHL team’s best active player still searching for a Stanley Cup win

By Kyle McKenna

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks spots the puck in front of the net of the New York Rangers during a NHL game at the SAP Center at San Jose on March 19, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Nick Lust/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 19: Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks spots the puck in front of the net of the New York Rangers during a NHL game at the SAP Center at San Jose on March 19, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Nick Lust/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs

The dark era North of the Border with the Toronto Maple Leafs is over. It’s on to new beginnings and for the first time in over two decades, the Leafs are again legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

Toronto has a handful of youthful assets with the likes of Austin Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Connor Brown and Reilly Morgan. Then Toronto has additional talent with key veterans such as Patrick Marleau and the newly acquired John Tavares.

Let’s not forget about the masked man between the pipes that’s arguably been the team’s most valuable player over the past two seasons, Frederik Andersen.

Still, none of those skaters mentioned above have ever won a Stanley Cup.

However, forward Patrick Marleau goes down as the Maple Leafs’ best player that’s still searching for a Stanley Cup championship. Similar to Marleau’s old friend from the San Jose Sharks, Joe Thornton, Marleau will go down as the greatest Shark of all-time, but he’s in jeopardy of being labeled as one of the greatest players to ever lace up the skates and never collect a Stanley Cup ring.

After spending 19 seasons with the Teal, the former second-overall selection from the 1997 NHL Draft recorded 508 career goals and 574 assists for 1082 career points in 1, 493 games. In 184 playoff contests, the soon to be 39-year-old has netted 73 goals and tallied 53 assists for 125 career points.

Marleau displayed that he can still compete at a high level and with a fast-paced offense such as Toronto, after Canadian Olympic Gold Medal winner recorded 47 points last season (27 goals, 20 assists).

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